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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28257129">Spectre v. Spectre</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbzespio/pseuds/dbzespio'>dbzespio</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alien Cultural Differences, Alternate Universe - No Reapers, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Humor, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Relationship(s), Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 19:42:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>84,279</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28257129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbzespio/pseuds/dbzespio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When you stand outside the law, conflict is inevitable. Shepard is no stranger to specters, ranging from ghosts from the past, inner demons, the illusive reach of the powerful, and even fellow Spectres themselves, both former and current. Her latest target? Garrus Vakarian.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Garrus Vakarian</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The crew debriefs and prepares to scout out Omega for clues.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wrex shoved two chairs together before settling into place within the comms room of the Normandy. “Looks like we’ll finally get to kick some ass this time around.”</p><p>The frown on his face finally started to ease as he turned to face Shepard. “I’m <em> right </em>, aren’t I?”</p><p>“Yeah… Looks like it,” she agreed, joining him at the table. </p><p>The room itself was nondescript; in that regard, it was no different than many Alliance ships. It merely contained one large table with several chairs lined up alongside it on both sides. The seats weren’t comfortable, of course, but, in true military fashion, they fulfilled their purpose. </p><p>“Good.” Wrex wriggled around within his seats, as if to work off his impatience. “Was getting tired of all these damn stealth missions. Seems like it’s all we do these days.” </p><p>“Has everyone read through the mission reports?” Liara asked upon settling herself alongside the other two. </p><p>“Of course. Read all of them.” Shepard nodded. “Wrex?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah.”</p><p>“Should we go over them together?” Liara questioned.</p><p>“Yeah, sure. So basically, we just gotta--” Wrex began and leaned back, but he quickly regretted that move, thanks to the fact that the weight of his upper body was just a bit too much for his dual chairs. He nearly toppled over backwards, but he managed to save himself at the last minute by abruptly shifting his weight back towards his feet and hands. The sudden and awkward movement also caused one of his legs to bump into the table, startling everyone else with the subsequent noise and vibration.  </p><p>“By the goddess!” Liara cried. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“I, ah… I’m fine.” Wrex straightened, cleared his throat, and frowned in embarrassment. He mumbled something about the “damn human furniture” before continuing. “Anyways, the mission looks pretty straightforward this time around.” </p><p>He smirked at Shepard. And his smile only widened as he spoke. “We go out, and we kick some turian ass!” </p><p>Shepard couldn’t help but mirror Wrex’s excitement with a small smirk of her own. “Sounds about right.” </p><p>But then she paused, pointing directly at Wrex’s nose. “But I want him alive. Got it?”</p><p>Wrex immediately deflated. “Why do you always--?”</p><p>“We <em> need </em>more information.” </p><p>At this, Wrex promptly opened his mouth to protest yet again. </p><p>“<em> I </em>need more information,” she clarified before he could interrupt. “I need to know why he did this.”</p><p>Wrex spread his arms wide and waved them aside, as if to brush these very thoughts away. “Does it matter? This guy killed your mentor, didn’t he?” </p><p>“I’m well aware,” she said tersely. </p><p>“Aren’t you angry? <em> Use </em>that anger!” he growled viciously as if to emphasize the point. </p><p>“I <em> am </em> angry.” Shepard folded her arms over her chest. “ <em> And </em>I need to know more.”</p><p>“Forget the damn details! They’re just another distraction!” he grunted. “All you need to do is just feel your anger and focus on it! <em> That’s </em>how you get the job done!”</p><p>“I need <em> answers </em>, Wrex.”</p><p>“And if there are no answers? What will you do then?”</p><p>Her fingers tensed. “I will do whatever I need to do. You already know that.”</p><p>He grumbled, seeming to take that answer as somewhat acceptable. “Let’s just hope you realize that quickly enough that I don’t get bored.”</p><p>Liara timidly looked between them before she opened her mouth to speak. Their conversation had clearly taken a more passionate turn than she had initially expected. “So... then…?” </p><p>“Right.” Shepard jumped in, noting her discomfort and stepping in to rein in the conversation before it got out of hand again. “So to recap, we just need to find the guy and take him in.”</p><p>“We <em> at least </em> have to kick his ass.” Wrex pointed an accusatory finger in her face. “Do <em> not </em>forget the ass kicking. That’s literally the only fun thing we get to do this time!”</p><p>“Alright. Yeah. We find him, <em> kick his ass </em>...” Here she paused, looking deliberately at Wrex. </p><p>He nodded approvingly before finally settling back in his seats. But obviously not too far back.</p><p>“And then, we bring him in for questioning. That’s the long and short of it.”</p><p>“Okay.” Liara touched her data pad. It had fallen asleep long ago, thanks to all this banter. “So I was hoping we might… review and discuss this mission in further detail? I have some concerns about this one. Plus, if we review everything again, I think we could easily springboard from there and start brainstorming ideas for where he could be hiding.”    </p><p>“Good thinking,” Shepard agreed before Wrex could have the chance to grumble out some sort of objection. “I have an idea about where he might be hiding, but I’d like to hear everyone else’s thoughts first. Go ahead and take the lead.”</p><p>“Our target is Garrus Vakarian.” </p><p>Liara brought up his picture on her data pad, and the others followed suit. Shepard could vaguely remember the name (it <em> had </em>been some time since she had last worked with him) but looking over his portrait now, she recalled him immediately. He was taller than the average turian (which meant he was far taller than she was), but other than that, he was mostly unremarkable in appearance. Not much separated him from the average turian you’d find walking down the street.</p><p>He had a rather pale complexion with a twinge of grey. His facial tattoos were dark blue (the color was admittedly quite rare, or at least, she personally had never before witnessed a turian with tattoos of that color), and they only resided on his cheeks and mandibles as well as across his nose. Many turians had tattoos extending up into their foreheads and fringe as well, but this man didn’t. </p><p>In this most recent portrait, Garrus looked quite a bit broader than she had last remembered him, but she wasn’t quite sure if that was due to increased muscle mass (either from simply working out more or perhaps from maturing fully into adulthood) or if it was merely due to the fact that he might just be wearing a better, thicker set of armor. At any rate, he appeared more formidable than when she had last seen him.        </p><p>“Garrus began his career in the turian military at fifteen, not unlike many turians his age,” Liara continued. “He stood out amongst his peers; apparently he is quite talented with assault and sniper rifles, tech, and hand to hand combat.”</p><p>Wrex snorted, “Sounds like a better version of Shepard.”</p><p>Shepard glared at him, while Liara sent her a worried look. Her concern only caused Shepard’s mood to further sour. </p><p>“Hey, come on!” Shepard finally exclaimed. “I have two whole years of experience over this guy.”</p><p>“<em> Two </em> whole years?!” Wrex guffawed. “Hah! Try fifty, my friend, <em> then </em> we’ll talk about experience.”</p><p>Liara delicately coughed into her hand. But Shepard could tell she was only covering quiet laughter. </p><p>The two of them did have a different perspective on time; after all, they were both over one hundred themselves. The lifespans of their races were far longer than humans.</p><p>Assholes.</p><p>Perspectives on time aside, Wrex did have a point, however. Defeating Garrus certainly wasn’t going to be easy for her.</p><p>Udina was always sending her on high risk, low reward missions. All to prove humanity’s potential, or whatever. </p><p>Potential for what, you might ask? Yeah, good question.</p><p>As far as she was concerned, humanity was <em> already </em> worthy. Of <em> whatever </em>silly task or measurement you wanted to throw at it. Well, at least as good as any other race out there.</p><p>The second you needed to start proving shit to people, you’ve already lost whatever credibility you managed to scrape together in the first place. In all honesty, proving something as vast and ill-defined as “worthiness” was a fool’s game, not worth anyone’s time. She’d rather just get the job done; it was better than idly sitting around to ponder bullshit such as that. </p><p>It was seriously just like Udina to waste time getting all caught up in something that pointless. You’d think as the ambassador to all humans, he’d have better things to do. But no, he just <em> had </em>to be an egotistical tryhard.</p><p>Her jaw clenched. Truth be told, she could have rejected the mission if she truly wanted to. But this one, however, was personal. Garrus had killed Nihlus, after all. </p><p>Her mentor. The one who had recommended her for Spectre status in the first place. All too often, she had been overlooked throughout her military career, irregardless of the accomplishments she had stacked to her name. But Nihlus had seen potential in her anyway. </p><p>Not to mention, he had always been patient with her, quite unlike many other mentor relationships. Just look at Udina if you need an example. Admittedly, as a woman in a predominantly male space, she often felt like an alien, even among her peers, let alone her superiors. But Nihlus <em> was </em> an alien, and yet, the two of them had gotten along easily, actually with very little effort required on her part.</p><p>Truthfully, she had developed a bit of a crush on him, back when he had been training her. Sure, he had been a bit older than her, but she found him attractive anyway, with his dark reddish complexion and stark white, yet inherently intricate, tattoos. She had never seen green eyes like his before, given that they were a rarity on earth. For turians, the color was common, but to her, it was mesmerizing. </p><p>No, she did not have a thing for turians. Nihlus was just likeable and handsome. Yeah.</p><p>Ultimately, she never attempted to pursue any sort of deeper relationship with him. At the time, she knew it wasn’t meant to be. Throughout their time together, she had learned that his sense of morality sharply conflicted with hers, and she knew such a contrast would have ruined anything they could have had. </p><p>And now, obviously, he was gone.     </p><p>Liara cleared her throat quietly before speaking up, seeing that she was about to lose Shepard. “Anyway, we have a lot to cover, so let’s continue, please. Um… As it stands, Garrus was chosen to receive advanced training, such that would have likely led to recommendation for Spectre status. However, he was pulled from the program shortly after being accepted.”</p><p>“Huh. Wonder why,” Wrex mused.</p><p>“Not sure.” Liara frowned, quickly scrolling through a few more tabs before returning to her place. “Next he applied to C-Sec. He became active in the investigation unit, ultimately becoming a detective. I believe you worked with him a few times before. Is that correct, Shepard?”</p><p>She nodded.</p><p>“What do you remember about him?”</p><p>“Was I ever there with you?” Wrex suddenly asked, apparently trusting Shepard’s memory better than his own. </p><p>“No, I always went alone. I remember it was usually for the trickier missions, a couple years back. I would just go in for a talk with C-Sec, try to see if they had any extra info for me. Figured there was no need for back-up, so I never bothered to bore anyone else with these things.”</p><p>Wrex nodded. More often than not, Citadel Security wasn’t of much help to them. It wasn’t worthwhile to drag anyone else along for inevitable disappointment, though she had admittedly done so a few times. Not for Garrus though.  </p><p>“Anyway, I remember once when I went in to meet him, he was chewing out the head of C-Sec…” Shepard faltered, trying to recall his name.</p><p>“Executor Pallin,” Liara supplied.</p><p>“Yeah, him! At the time, I remember being pretty… confused?” She looked skyward as she struggled to explain. “Well, I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone literally start shouting down a top level officer like that. I mean, he’s the<em> head </em> of C-Sec… and this rookie cop’s telling <em> him </em>what to do like he owns the place.” </p><p>Shepard couldn’t help but snicker at the very thought of the situation, even now.</p><p>“A cocky bastard, huh?” Wrex shook his head. “Yeah… those are the <em> best </em> type of turians…” </p><p>“Honestly though, I thought it was pretty damn funny. Still do.” She laid a hand over her mouth to keep herself from snickering anew. “But I knew that would be unprofessional so I totally kept it to myself.”</p><p>Wrex snorted, “Sure you did.”</p><p>“So Garrus is resistant to authority,” Liara remarked, subtly pushing to keep them on track. “Perhaps that is why he attacked Nihlus.”</p><p>“Only one way to know for sure.” Wrex made a show of punching his open palm. “I hear turians hate getting hit in the face plates. They<em> also </em> hate getting their mandibles pulled off.”</p><p>“No torture,” Shepard snapped.</p><p>Wrex threw up his hands. “Never <em> said </em> that!”</p><p>“Didn’t <em> need </em>to!”</p><p>“Shepard!” Liara exclaimed, causing both the commander and Wrex to refocus their attention back on her. </p><p>It wasn’t often that Liara demanded attention, so when she snapped like that, she normally got it. “What happened after Garrus argued with Executor Pallin? Do you remember anything else that stands out about him?” she pressed, tired of all their side shows.</p><p>“Not much. Meeting with him was mostly just like any other meeting with a C-Sec officer. He couldn’t help me much, as usual and as expected. He genuinely seemed put out about it though. Unlike most C-Sec officers I’ve worked with. I get the feeling that there was more he could have done, <em> if </em>he had been properly authorized. Probably deliberately holding him back so he didn’t discover anything too... complicated.”</p><p>“C-Sec is corrupt as hell,” Wrex agreed.</p><p>“Did you get the sense that Garrus was ever hostile? Did he seem to maybe... resent you for your Spectre status?” Liara questioned. “That would put you in a position of authority, after all.”</p><p>“No, if anything, he usually seemed... envious, actually. In all honesty, it seemed like he was mostly only pissed off at the system and his superiors. He was… really nothing but respectful to me.”</p><p>“That would make sense.” Liara returned to her data pad. “It was two years ago that Garrus quit C-Sec. He re-joined the Spectre training courses and was ultimately referred to Nihlus for final recommendations. He must have decided he was tired of being jealous and did what he could to change that.”</p><p>Wrex thumbed through his own data pad. </p><p>“Got his recommendation letter right here,” he paused and looked pointedly at Shepard. “<em> Glowing </em>reviews.”</p><p>Shepard met his gaze with a suspicious look of her own.</p><p>Wrex grinned broadly, an evil glint in his eye. “To provide proper context, we can compare <em> this </em> letter with <em> Shepard’s </em> own recommendation letter, which is also, of course, written by Nihlus.” </p><p>Shepard’s eyes widened in horror. “You didn’t.”</p><p>Wrex let out a low, downright evil, laugh. “I did.”</p><p>Shepard rose from her chair in indignation. “How in the <em> hell </em>did you--?!”</p><p>“I’m the chief officer serving a Council Spectre. I have <em> top level </em> clearance on--”</p><p>“The hell you do--!”</p><p>“We do, Shepard,” Liara confirmed. </p><p>Shepard’s jaw fell slack. “Don’t tell me--”</p><p>“I checked it too,” she admitted.</p><p>Shepard slumped back into her chair.</p><p>“I’m truly sorry, Shepard, I just… I wanted to see what we were up against here. Comparing the two of you using Nihlus’ professional opinion, well… it is only logical, right?”</p><p>Wrex started to read through her report from Nihlus (and dramatically compare it to Garrus’), while Shepard merely crumpled onto the table and hid her head under her hands. </p><p>“You’re embarrassing her, Wrex! That’s quite enough!”</p><p>At least Liara came to her defense. While the two of them argued, Shepard took a moment to reflect.</p><p>Wrex <em> was </em> right, after all. Garrus’ recommendation letter was nothing short of perfect. It was clear that Nihlus not only admired his skills, but also his disposition. He was willing to do whatever it took to complete his objectives, no matter the costs. He was utterly devoted to justice, but he was far from blind. He would save the entire galaxy from <em> itself </em>, if he had to.</p><p>Nihlus’ letter for Shepard was also complimentary, but it was clearly lacking the odious amounts of praise Garrus had accrued. In combat, Shepard was indeed skilled and Nihlus had sung her praises accordingly, but when you directly stack her skills as opposed to Garrus’, it became rather clear who was better. And of course, this meant in a direct and straightforward battle between the two, it was clear who would win.</p><p>Shepard narrowed her eyes. She had better make sure that she had tilted things in her favor before any actual conflict between them emerged. Otherwise it was her ass on the line.</p><p>As far as technical skill went, the two Spectres were likely roughly equal in terms of skill and expertise. </p><p>She rubbed the port for her omni-tool absently. It was a good thing she had asked Tali to harden her device back before the quarian had left for the Migrant Fleet. That ensured Shepard at least had an advantage on one front. He wouldn’t be able to hack into her systems. </p><p>Garrus was also skilled in hand to hand combat. While she certainly wasn’t a slouch in that department either (thanks in no small part to her strength implants), she definitely wouldn’t count herself an expert. And Garrus obviously had a far more than significant height and weight advantage over her. If it ever came down to it, she’d have a better chance slipping away than actually trying to engage him in a fistfight. </p><p>It was lucky for her that Wrex would be coming along. Not many could best a krogan hand to hand, much less a biotic enhanced krogan like Wrex. It didn’t matter much what skills Garrus had, they would never stack up to Wrex in a direct confrontation. She’d need to stay close to him to keep that advantage.</p><p>Her skills aside, Nihlus had admitted in his letter to the Council that he wasn’t fully confident in vouching for Shepard’s disposition. He found her capable, intelligent, adaptable and the like; however, he did not like her reluctance to act. Particularly, her reluctance to kill. </p><p>Nihlus found her too hesitant and too soft. Too willing to waste time gathering all the information she could get before she acted. Too willing to forgive the enemy. This could (and on several occasions <em> did </em>) allow the opportunity for her enemies to escape, deceive, or even injure her. Nihlus had found this weakness of hers to be rather surprising, given her exclusively military background, but he could not deny that this vulnerability persisted, all the same. Ultimately, that weakness wasn’t enough to deny her Spectre status, but it was a solid mark that stood against her. A mark that Garrus didn’t have. </p><p>And of course, those were just the major themes that described their performances; there were a myriad of details which, when added up, tended to result in Shepard’s skill sets amounting to less than those of their target.</p><p>Wrex was finally starting to realize his ribbing was going a bit too far. “Come on, Shepard. No need to cry. Not when <em> I’m </em>here to save you.”</p><p>Shepard continued to lie there on the table and groaned audibly.</p><p>“That’s quite enough, Wrex.” Liara straightened in her seat. “Now, we need to continue this debriefing, or we’ll never finish.”</p><p>Shepard rested her chin in her palms. “Lead on.”</p><p>Liara cleared her throat. “Like Shepard, Garrus trained under Nihlus before forming a team of his own. Nihlus was murdered three months after he had parted ways with Garrus. The Council officially ruled his death as an unfortunate accident. They were afraid that if word got out that a rogue Spectre is killing other Spectres...” </p><p>Liara paused, apparently searching for the right words. “Well, it wouldn’t be pretty. Many people don’t trust Spectres, since they act above the rule of law. This incident would just further erode that trust.”</p><p>“Wait. How long ago was Nihlus murdered?” Wrex asked while scrolling frantically through his data pad.</p><p>“Seven months ago,” Liara answered.</p><p>“So why did they wait so long to--?”</p><p>“Vakarian disappeared. And no one’s been able to track him down,” Shepard replied. “It was right around when Nihlus was killed too, which makes it even more plausible that he is the one who murdered Nihlus.”</p><p>“Plausible?” Liara echoed. “No, the Council stated that Garrus did indeed murder Nihlus. The evidence was irrefutable.” </p><p>“And I don’t want to go over all of that. He’s guilty, and everyone knows it. Eventually Shepard will figure that out too.” Wrex waved his hand in annoyance. “Anyway, did we have any leads on where he could be hiding? Or do we need to start brainstorming our own? ‘Cause I don’t got a clue.”</p><p>“Me neither,” Liara admitted. “He could be anywhere, really.”</p><p>Shepard shifted to a new tab on her data pad. “I’ve been doing some research... across any channels I can get my hands on. Council intelligence reports didn’t have much for me, but I did find something interesting.”</p><p>She scrolled down to the headline she wanted and enlarged it before spinning the pad around to show the others. Above the article, a blurry photo depicted a turian in blue armor. His face was entirely masked by a helmet, but he was outfitted with a sniper rifle. The headline read: “Archangel: Savior of Omega?”</p><p>“A turian vigilante has been wreaking havoc on Omega for five months now. Coincidence?”</p><p>Liara pondered the photo for several moments. “Possibly. It’s certainly worth looking into.”</p><p>“Omega…” Wrex stroked his chin absently. “Didn’t think the Council knew much about what’s going on in the Terminus Systems…”</p><p>“Don’t underestimate the Council, Wrex,” Liara softly chided. “They are the single, most unified force across any known system.”</p><p>Wrex merely hummed in response.</p><p>“What do we know about this… Archangel?” Liara inquired.</p><p> “Archangel…” Wrex tried out the name. “Damn, that’s style.”</p><p>“I know, right?” Shepard lit up. </p><p>“Shepard,” Liara was starting to sound rather tired, “what do we know?”</p><p>“Well, it’s a team of twelve, including him.” Shepard returned to the data pad for reference. “Apparently they sabotage the local mercenary groups’ operations. Eventually the mercs get frustrated and attempt to go on the offensive. That’s when Archangel just leads them into traps; everyone gets utterly obliterated. That’s why there isn’t much on him. Anyone who opposes him dies. But he hasn’t killed any civilians. Several slave operations have gotten busted, tainted eezo’s becoming a thing of the past... all thanks to him. Sounds like he’s really cleaning up crime on Omega.”</p><p>Eezo was expensive, and it was the primary fuel source for spaceships and the like. That meant that tainted supplies could result in anything from poor performance to a ship being blown up. Unfortunately, the latter was more likely than the former, which was why it was so dangerous. It was the quintessential picture of profits over safety.  </p><p>“Well, that’s one way of putting it…” Liara’s nose wrinkled in displeasure.</p><p>“Oh, they definitely need a heavy hand there,” Wrex remarked.</p><p>“You’ve been?” Shepard asked.</p><p>“Yeah. Couldn’t wait to leave. A hellhole, that’s what it is. Nice dancers though.”</p><p>Liara shook her head, while Shepard rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Anyway, let’s check it out.” Shepard looked to the others for support. “It’s the only lead we have so far.”</p><p>Liara looked uncertain. “But how should we approach this?”</p><p>“Shoot first, ask questions later.” Wrex gave a single nod.</p><p>“Twelve people!” Shepard reminded him. “We have to play this smart, or we’ll end up in deep shit.”</p><p>“So what do you suggest?” Liara inquired.</p><p>“We need to get Archangel alone.” Shepard paused a moment, weighing the possibilities. “Even if he isn’t Garrus, I’m willing to bet this Archangel will still recognize me, being the first human Spectre. He’ll know we’re with the Council. So we could… ask for his help or something? We’ll need to feed him some bullshit story about how we’re... ‘investigating some mercs who’ve gone too far.’ That should warm him up, get him to talk to us. From there… we’ll just need to get him to trust us enough to go somewhere alone with us. Then we’ll grab him and get our answers. If he’s not Garrus, we’ll just return him to his people and apologize until we’re blue in the face. But if he is, we’ll be set.”</p><p>Wrex was frowning, his mood fouling with every word she spoke. “This ‘plan’ of yours? Doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of violence I’ve been deprived of lately.”</p><p>Shepard waved him off. “He’ll probably have some mercs for you to fight. Just make sure to rough up a lot of them to get on his good side.”</p><p>Wrex, utterly serious, actually made a note of that on his data pad. </p><p>“Now <em> that </em>will work.” With that said, he looked up from his notes and grinned evilly.</p><p>Liara took a deep breath, but when Shepard looked over at her in concern, the asari nodded confidently. </p><p>“Let’s head to Omega.”</p><p>~1~</p><p>Omega was, technically speaking, an asteroid. It had been hollowed out and reconstructed for a mining project ages ago. No one was quite sure when exactly that had happened, but nowadays, it was obvious that anything of value had long since been stripped away. Now it was a haven for criminals and aimless wanderers alike. </p><p>There were no laws here, nothing more than a raw struggle to survive. Those who managed to dominate their opposition made the rules, until they were lost to the next successful challenger. As such, various structures and architectural styles were haphazardly applied wherever they could fit, a testament to the victors that had managed to make a mark before they could, in turn, lose whatever scrap of power they had gained. </p><p>Regular conflicts insured that structures were broken or even flat out destroyed on a daily basis. There was no telling how long anything would stand, so no one bothered to build anything to last. Honestly, the entire station felt like a patchwork of temporary fixes, just enough to last to the next conflict. Also, the air vaguely smelled of urine and body odor. </p><p>The moment Shepard and her squad stepped out of the airlock, a batarian man was up in their faces. “You want to wander Omega? Then you talk to Aria, you hear?”</p><p>They hadn’t even done anything yet, and the guy was already squared up like he was going to punch Shepard in the nose.</p><p> “Whoa, slow down.” Shepard lightly held up her hands to indicate she wasn’t hostile. “We just want to--”</p><p>“No!” he barked, aggressively stepping into her space. She could smell his breath now. And it certainly wasn’t… pleasant. “You want in on Omega? You <em> talk to Aria </em>!”</p><p>“Fine!” She threw up her hands in exasperation. Clearly the guy was too pissed off to even listen to anything longer than two seconds anyway. </p><p>“We’ll ‘talk to Aria’!” she sarcastically mimicked his urgency. “That make you happy?!”   </p><p>He stared into her eyes, as if he was trying to gauge her sincerity or something. Honestly this whole interaction was odd as hell, but she merely stared back at him, figuring it would probably get him out of her face faster. Like, look tough, but not enough to provoke him somehow... or something?  </p><p>Ah, who the hell knows.</p><p>He continued to stare at her for several more seconds. And yes, his breath… was still horrid.</p><p>Finally he nodded slowly, apparently still trying to be as dramatic and extra as possible. </p><p>“Alright.” he bellowed, finally backing away. “Follow me, and I’ll take you to Aria.”</p><p>Shepard looked to Liara and Wrex, visibly perplexed. They both appeared just as baffled. </p><p>Wrex shrugged. “So who’s this ‘Aria’ of yours anyway?”</p><p>Talking to him was a mistake. For he whirled around, fury personified yet again. “Aria is the <em> queen </em>of Omega!”</p><p>Okay. So. </p><p>Let’s take this from the top again. Since <em> someone </em>clearly didn’t approve of it.</p><p>So Omega was, technically speaking, an asteroid. <em> Aria’s </em>asteroid. </p><p>As they say, it had been hollowed out and reconstructed for a mining project ages ago. But no one cares about that because<em> Aria </em>says the past is the fucking past! </p><p>Anyway, no one was quite sure when exactly the reconstruction took place, but apparently… it didn’t fucking matter because<em> Aria </em>said so! </p><p>So nowadays, it was obvious that anything of value had long since been stripped away... No! Anything of value on Omega belongs to <em> Aria </em>! </p><p>Well, now Omega was a haven for criminals and aimless wanderers alike. But only because<em> Aria </em>was cool with it! </p><p>There were no laws here, nothing more than a raw struggle to survive. Because that’s how <em> Aria </em>likes it! </p><p>Those who managed to dominate their opposition made the rules, until they were lost to the next successful challenger. </p><p>Damn straight they were! Unless <em> Aria </em> is the opposition! If <em> Aria </em>is after you, you better watch your fucking ass because you won’t be around for much longer! </p><p>But what’s the point of watching your ass if you’re only going to die anywa--? </p><p>Shut the fuck up! You trying to piss off <em> Aria </em>?! </p><p>No.</p><p>No? Then… <em> good </em>! </p><p>The trio followed after the batarian as he pushed his way through crowds and random bystanders alike. They eventually arrived at what appeared to be a club, with the words “Afterlife” glowing above the entrance with flaming letters. There was a line leading into the place, but the batarian marched past without any resistance. So Shepard and the others tagged along after him. </p><p>Upon entering, it was obvious that the Afterlife was indeed a club. The walls were adorned with enormous monitors displaying simulated flames. The music was loud, pulsing the ground and even the air itself. The lights were wild, seemingly shrouding everyone in darkness while simultaneously bathing them in a wide array of colors.</p><p>This sensory overload along with the pungent smell of sweat was enough to make Liara feel sick. She glanced around for a quieter place to hide out for a while. Once she took notice of some back rooms, she nudged Shepard and indicated where she was headed. “This place… is a bit much…” She could hardly hear her own voice.</p><p>Shepard couldn’t really hear her either but seemed to get the idea. “Alright. We’ll meet up later.” </p><p>Wrex hadn’t even noticed the exchange until Liara started to leave them. “Liara?” He looked to her and then to Shepard, both concerned and confused.</p><p>“She’ll be fine.” She had to practically shout to be heard. </p><p>Finally, they approached the center of the club. Asari dancers took to the stage high above them, and Shepard was more than annoyed to see that there were no men among them. Wrex, however, was entirely pleased. “Told ya they had great dancers here!” </p><p>He caught the eye of one of them and winked. Shepard managed to refrain from rolling her eyes.</p><p>The batarian kept marching forward, still shoving random folks aside like the wild ass that he was. Eventually, they made their way to a small set of stairs that led to another area of the club; here, the music was dimmed significantly. It felt more like a dull, background roar as opposed to the blistering headache the lower floor produced. </p><p>The batarian led them to a boxed in seating arrangement. The seating was luxurious, yet modern enough to fit in with the club’s aesthetic. A single asari woman was waiting for them in the center. </p><p>She didn’t bother to look at them as they arrived. She merely held up a hand indicating that they should halt. A few guards standing nearby moved in to scan them, but after several seconds, they let out a resounding “all clear.”</p><p>“Commander Shepard.” The asari turned and glared directly into her eyes. “What brings a Spectre to my humble little asteroid?”</p><p>Shepard gave a small shrug. “Business.”</p><p>“Of course,” she replied curtly, lazily waving her hand to indicate that she should sit down. </p><p>Wrex remained standing. He knew firsthand that asari furniture was no different than human ones, typically too delicate for a krogan as heavy as himself. </p><p>Shepard sat and regarded the so-called queen of Omega. She was leant back and hadn’t bothered to move since she had offered Shepard a seat. And she practically radiated power and sheer badassery. </p><p>“You run Omega?” Shepard finally asked. The answer was obvious, but she wanted to know how she would react to the question.</p><p>Aria let out a short, unimpressed laugh. She then proceeded to monologue about how badass she was. It was a touch over the top, honestly. Her dramatic antics weren’t really needed, since it was obvious this woman held all the power here. But some people really like to make a show of how awesome they are. </p><p>Aria was no exception. She finished with her arms extended wide, gazing over the club down below her. “I <em> am </em>Omega.” </p><p>With that said, she sent Shepard a self-satisfied smirk and leaned back onto her plush throne.</p><p>
  <em> L’Etat, c’est moi.  </em>
</p><p>Great. She was just as narcissistic as any other dictator. Hopefully she at least had information.</p><p>Shepard decided to get straight to the point. “I’m looking for Archangel.”</p><p>That caught Aria’s attention. She regarded Shepard with interest for a moment before responding. </p><p>“Then you’d better find him quickly. Word is, Archangel’s in a bit of a rough spot right now,” she smirked sadistically.</p><p>“What’s happened?”</p><p>“The Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and Eclipse are all teaming up to take the bastard out. They already took care of his team. Now Archangel is all alone.” Aria watched Shepard’s stunned reaction with a sick sense of pleasure. “Like I said, you’d better hurry if you want to see him alive. I hear they’re recruiting downstairs. Could be your way in.”</p><p>Shepard took a moment to let that sink in before speaking again. She didn’t want to risk looking any more foolish than she already did. “What do you know about Archangel?”</p><p>Aria looked away; a frown crossed her face. “Not as much as I’d like to. He showed up a few months ago; been wreaking havoc on plenty of operations. But he knows enough not to cross me.” </p><p>She looked back at Shepard with yet another arrogant smile. “So I sit back and let them play their games. They won’t be playing for much longer though. You’d better hurry.” </p><p>She waved Shepard out.</p><p>“Thanks for your help.” Shepard stood.</p><p>“Whatever.”</p><p>She and Wrex left without another word. They rejoined Liara, and Shepard quickly recounted what they had learned to her. </p><p>“With Archangel’s team out of the picture, it looks like our mission just got a lot easier,” Wrex pointed out. “Let the mercs take the turian out; we take his head and send it to the Council. Mission accomplished. Not as violent as I’d like, but at least it’s easy money.”</p><p>“You think they’re just gonna let us have his body?” Shepard gave him a sidelong look. “Spoiler alert: no; they’re going to do sick shit with it to set an example!”</p><p>Liara sucked in her breath and held her head in her hands. This really wasn’t turning out to be her day…</p><p>“So?” Wrex held out his hands. “All we gotta do is beat the hell out of them until they <em> do </em>give it to us!”</p><p>“And if Archangel isn’t actually Garrus?” </p><p>Wrex faltered, unable to come with a retort.</p><p>Shepard shook her head. “We have to save Archangel. If he is Garrus, we’ll capture him and bring him in for questioning afterwards. And if he isn’t... then if we play our cards right, we could possibly have a sweet new squad member! He needs a new team, and I’m sure he’d be willing to protect galactic peace with us.”</p><p>Wrex was unimpressed. “Like we need another sniper?”</p><p>“We could always use more people!”</p><p>Wrex shook his head. But then, he suddenly straightened and rounded on Shepard. “Wait a minute! Did you legitimately come across this guy <em> while </em> you were searching for the target?”</p><p>“Uh-huh! Yeah!” Shepard nodded. A little <em> too </em>quickly.</p><p>“The hell you have!” Wrex exclaimed, pointing right at her. “You’ve been following this guy long before you even heard of this damn mission! I’m right, aren’t I?”</p><p>“You’re wrong. You’re actually... wrong. Mmhm. Wrong.”</p><p>“And then you made some haphazard argument that he <em> could be </em>our target just so that you could come out here and meet him!”</p><p>“What? No. That’s odd. Why would I--no.”</p><p>“Admit it!”</p><p>“Admit what?”</p><p>“You’ve been following this damn guy for months, haven’t you?” He pointed even closer to her face.</p><p>“What? Why would you think that? Like… I mean? What?”</p><p>“Send me your extranet history.” </p><p>“What? No.”</p><p>“Let me see it!” </p><p>Liara held her temples. “Wrex… please. The fact remains. Archangel is in trouble, and he could be our target. If we want answers out of him, we’ll need to hurry and join the recruiting effort Aria mentioned.”</p><p>“That’s absolutely right!” Shepard exclaimed. “We need to hurry, right away!”</p><p>Wrex nudged the back of Shepard’s helmet as they rose to leave. “You. Have a thing for turians.” </p><p>“What? No. Why would you say that?”</p><p>“Quit lying.”</p><p>“Hey. A mysterious sniper is a sexy addition to any team. Race doesn’t matter.”</p><p>“Uh-huh.”</p><p>“Of course it doesn’t! Look at me!”</p><p>“Hah. Clearly not as sexy as me, but I guess you are an <em> addition </em>to the team, at least.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Edit: Added numbers to scene breaks and removed physical descriptions.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Archangel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shepard and the team arrive on Archangel's base.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Split the first chapter into two. This chapter was originally part of chapter one.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shepard walked up towards a batarian man who appeared to be taking names. Once the small crowd in front of him dispersed, she stood before him. “You the one looking for new recruits?”</p><p>He looked up from his data pad and did a double take. Then he sent her a saccharine smile. </p><p>“Oh honey, you’re in the wrong place. <em> Dancers </em>apply over there,” he chuckled haughtily and tilted his head in another direction.</p><p>Shepard huffed out a short, entirely unpleasant laugh. “Huh. Yeah, I know... This must be strange for you, having a woman seek out your attention <em> without </em> being paid to… But there’s no need to piss yourself. I’m actually here for Archangel. <em> Not </em>you.”</p><p>His jaw dropped. “You bitch!”</p><p>“No need to get all emotional.” Shepard waved a hand as if to sweep him aside. “Just add three more to the damn roster. It’s not hard.”</p><p>He snarled and rage-clicked on the data pad. “Just… head over there! They’ll tell you what to do!”</p><p>Not wanting to spare him another second of their time, Shepard and Liara immediately followed after the folks who had been ahead of them in line, while Wrex paused briefly to laugh at the batarian’s expense. He merely turned away in response; apparently didn’t want to add himself to a krogan’s shit list today. </p><p>Eventually, another mercenary directed them to their ride which would supposedly lead them to Archangel. Upon arrival, Shepard noticed a batarian nearby who looked to be leading others. Once he was free, she approached him. </p><p>“You one of the new recruits?” he asked.</p><p>She nodded. </p><p>“Good. You lot look more capable than most of the dumbasses we’ve been picking up these days. Did they tell you the gist of things?”</p><p>“Not really,” Shepard shrugged. “Check-in guy was a bit of a dumbass.”</p><p>“Oh. Well, I can fill you in, if you got any questions.”</p><p>“So what’s the plan of attack?”</p><p>“Alright, so…” He gestured ahead of them. “Archangel’s holed up in his base across the bridge up ahead. It’s the only way in or out of that place, so unfortunately, that’s how we gotta enter, at least until some of our guys can load up some proper explosives. </p><p>“<em>Your </em>job is to distract him. On our say-so, we’re gonna have you recruits storm the bridge. Now you don’t gotta do any heroics. Just keep his attention and try not to die. Do your job and then get paid; that’s really all there is to it.”</p><p>She nodded, and they left the batarian to follow the other folks heading towards a temporary camp. </p><p>Before entering, Liara halted, causing the other two to stop as well. “We know Archangel’s a sniper. But these recruits most likely don’t. These mercenaries are sending them into a death trap.”</p><p>“They’re bait,” Wrex stated bluntly.</p><p>“I know,” Shepard frowned. “But they were foolish enough to sign up for this, so it’s entirely on them to figure it out. We’ve got to come up with our own plan.”</p><p>“Easy enough,” Wrex chuckled. “I’ll rush the bridge. You ladies stay close behind me. Archangel might be a sniper, but there’s no way he’ll break through my barriers <em> and </em>stop all those other recruits from rushing in too.”</p><p>“You’re betting on the fact that he’ll give up on you and focus on the easier targets first,” Liara realized. “That way, he’ll be able to prevent himself from getting overwhelmed.”</p><p>“It should give us enough time to reach his base,” Shepard nodded. “Archangel’s most likely perched up on a higher story, maybe even on the roof. Once we reach the entrance of his base, we’ll be right underneath him, out of range of his rifle. I’ll hack the doors, and then we can hole up inside and help Archangel take out these assholes.”</p><p>“Hah! They won’t stand a chance against me,” Wrex grinned. “We’ll kill every last one of them.” </p><p>“You intend to wait it out?” Liara frowned. “Shouldn’t we try to escape with Archangel?”</p><p>“That one dude was saying the bridge is the only way in or out,” Shepard shook her head. “Holding the position is our only option here.”</p><p>“Maybe Archangel knows of another way out,” Liara suggested.</p><p>“You think he wouldn’t have used it by now?” Wrex frowned. “He’s out numbered, so if he could escape, he’d surely have done it by now.”</p><p>“Trying to escape seems like a bad idea anyway,” Shepard pointed out. “Surely his base has some fortifications. If we just leave with him, someone is bound to spot us, given how many assholes we’ve got gathered around here. All it would take is one pair of eyes, and suddenly, we’re out on our asses with everyone on top of us. At least the walls can somewhat protect us from the inevitable hailstorm of bullets as we hold the line.”</p><p>Liara bit her lip. “I am... getting nervous, Shepard.” </p><p>Before Shepard could reassure her, Wrex stepped in. “Hey. I’ll protect you. All you need to do is watch my back, and then you don’t gotta worry about a thing. I’ll handle the rest.”</p><p>Shepard nodded, “Him and I both. We’ll get through this.”</p><p>Liara took a deep breath. “Okay. I will protect you too!”</p><p>“Good!” Shepard smiled at her, not quite realizing that her helmet obscured the gesture.</p><p>Liara was a scientist. Honestly, there were times when Shepard felt immensely guilty dragging her along, especially on missions like this one. But with Tali, Ashley, and Kaiden out of the mix, she didn’t have much of a choice anymore. Thankfully, Liara was a wizard with her biotics; she often outlasted Wrex in terms of how long and how often she could sustain her abilities. She just hoped she wasn’t pushing the poor woman too far this time. She’d have to watch her back, in addition to her own ass.</p><p>The trio entered the encampment only to discover a huddle of mercenaries sitting around and bitching about Archangel. Shepard surreptitiously snooped about, but there was nothing of value around. So the trio wandered along, following the general flow of people, all while keeping an eye out for anything useful. At one point, Shepard stumbled upon a mech. She toyed with its friend vs foe protocols for the lulz. Probably no one would be clever enough to actually notice.</p><p>She was just starting to wonder where this bridge leading to Archangel actually was when they reached a relatively open corridor. A few mercs had piled up garbage to use as cover while they fired away. Figuring she was safe behind the cover, Shepard ambled on ahead. </p><p>“Watch out!” a random mercenary shrieked.</p><p>A bullet struck Shepard right on the helmet, tearing straight through her shields. If she wasn’t wearing that helmet, she’d probably be dead. She dropped to the ground immediately and scurried away, holding her head.</p><p>“By the goddess!” Liara gasped. “Are you alright?!”</p><p>“I’m fine…” Shepard answered, sheepish. </p><p>“Dumbass…” the random merc shook his head.</p><p>“I’m glad you always wear a helmet…” Liara exhaled softly.</p><p>“I hate them myself. Can’t ever see a damn thing,” Wrex grunted. </p><p>At that moment, Liara carefully erected a barrier along the corridor to protect the two of them as they headed over to Shepard. </p><p>“Barriers like that,” he continued. “They’re all you need.”</p><p>“Not everyone is a biotic,” Shepard grumbled.</p><p>“Hey!” a random merc glared at Liara. “You didn’t think to place that a little closer? Spare some protection for the rest of us, huh?”</p><p>“Sorry…?” she shrugged.</p><p>He sighed, “Why do we even bother with these bastards?”</p><p>Ignoring the mercs, they wandered along until they came upon a random door. Shrugging, Shepard opened it. Inside, a large krogan was seated amongst some vorcha. They weren't wearing many clothes, aside from some scraps of fabric covering their genitals, which was… just wonderful. </p><p>The vorcha immediately started hissing at Shepard, and the krogan glared at her. “What do <em> you </em>want, human?”</p><p>“Nothing.” Shepard just stepped back and re-closed the door. </p><p>She glanced back at her companions. “Okay… it’s not <em> that </em>way, I guess.”</p><p>Wrex threw up his hands in exasperation. “Then where the hell <em> is </em>it? That dumbass said it was just ahead!”</p><p>“I’m starting to see why they needed so many people just to take out this one guy...”</p><p>“It is impressive though,” Liara acknowledged. “Archangel must be rather resourceful. I never would have thought they would invest this many people into stopping one person. They must be very afraid of him.” </p><p>“No doubt. We’ll need to stay on our toes.”</p><p>The trio eventually wandered into a meeting of blue clad mercs. Well, if you defined a ‘meeting’ as one batarian shouting at everyone else. </p><p>Shepard slowly approached, thinking that maybe she could ask someone for directions. </p><p>But the loudmouth locked eyes with her immediately. “Why the <em> fuck </em> is a <em> human </em>talking to me?”</p><p>“I didn’t even say anythi--”</p><p>“<em>Lizzy </em>!” he screeched. “Where the fuck are you?!”</p><p>“Right here!” A human woman hurried over to them. “Yeah, so the boss is a little busy. I can answer your questions.”</p><p>“Yeah, I got a question.” Shepard held out her hands. “Why is your boss like that TM?”</p><p>She looked over at him. He was now screaming at another guy. “He’s, ah… very stressed right now. Has been ever since Archangel busted our last raid. We lost a lot of funds on that one.”</p><p>“Charming,” Shepard rolled her eyes. “Anyways, where the hell is the bridge?”</p><p>“Should be out that way,” she pointed. “Then to your right. But don’t rush out there until they give the signal.”</p><p>“Yeah, whatever.” Shepard walked off, with the others in her wake. </p><p>Soon enough, they reached the bridge. A bunch of garbage had been stacked up to protect the mercs as they laid down cover fire. But even with their formidable garbage piles, they were still dropping like flies left and right. Shepard could hear Archangel’s rifle from here, firing again and again. Hopefully he had plenty of thermal clips up in that base of his.</p><p>The recruits were ambling about, looking anxious to begin their suicide run. A random one approached her. “I think it’s time to start. You want to ask the boss, or should I?”</p><p>“I’ll do it,” Shepard nodded, not wanting this to take even longer than it had to. “Where is he?”</p><p>“In there.”</p><p>She nodded to him before taking off. Inside the area the guy had indicated, yet another batarian was working on a small aircraft. He was smoking a fat cigar, which made the whole place smell like fumigated shit. </p><p>“Hey, yo!” Shepard waved to get his attention. “We ready to start, or what?”</p><p>“What? No!” He looked offended. “We go when they give the signal.”</p><p>Just then, some shouting erupted from a nearby monitor. </p><p>“What the hell?!” The man rushed over to it and dramatically smashed his hands onto the screen, as if that would do anything other than further obscure the already shitty view.</p><p>More shouting erupted from the monitor, but Shepard didn’t understand a word of it, thanks to the horrible static.   </p><p>But apparently the batarian understood it because he looked at Shepard like she was late for school. “What the hell are you just standing there for?! <em> Move, move, move </em>!”</p><p>A few other recruits had spilled into the room, and they scurried off to inform the others. </p><p>Shepard pulled out her pistol and nodded to her companions. “Let’s go.”</p><p>They ran out to hide behind the garbage piles just as the other recruits were rushing the bridge.</p><p>Wrex smashed his fists together and roared, gearing up for a powerful biotic display. His body glowed purple, as his biotic powers emanated from his head all the way down to his feet. He roared yet again and charged, knocking over and trampling all the garbage in his wake, both mercenary and literal garbage alike. Shepard and Liara hurried after him, careful to remain close behind his massive frame.</p><p>As expected, Archangel ignored the charging krogan. His sniper rifle simply didn’t have enough firepower to take him down quickly enough for his liking, so the krogan wasn’t worth the bullets. At least, not until after his barrier wore off. </p><p>Liara had formed her own barrier in the meantime, shielding herself in a silvery blue sheen. </p><p>That left Shepard.   </p><p>The moment Wrex’s shoulder swayed to the side, Archangel fired. Shepard shrieked when she felt a strike hit her square on the forehead, the blow instantly taking out her shields. Another hit like that would easily puncture her helmet, which would undoubtedly kill her. </p><p>“Shepard!” Wrex bellowed, realizing her predicament. He skidded to a halt, allowing her to cower behind him while her shields regenerated. </p><p>“Run!” he shouted at Liara, who had awkwardly hesitated. </p><p>She sprinted alone toward the entrance of the base, not allowing herself a chance to stop and think. </p><p>Archangel took a shot on her next, instantly dropping her barrier. She froze, eyes wide and too scared to even scream. </p><p>Wrex roared yet again and held out his arm, sending a wave of biotic energy straight into Liara’s back. The blast knocked her off her feet, but it was enough to propel her to the entrance of the base and out of Archangel’s reach.  </p><p>Realizing she was a lost cause for now, Archangel then fired on the next recruit, resuming his strategy of doing his best to take out the tougher-looking ones as quickly as possible. </p><p>It was only after he had killed two more that Shepard called out to Wrex. “My shields are back.”</p><p>“Finally...” Wrex looked up and watched Archangel fire on yet another recruit. </p><p>At that moment, Wrex seized Shepard by the waist and tucked her under his arm like a football. The sudden snatch without any warning whatsoever nearly kicked her survival instincts into gear, but thankfully, she managed to remain relatively still and not inadvertently resist his assistance. “Sorry your ass is exposed, but better your ass than your skull.”</p><p>Luckily for her, Archangel ignored her ass and instead fired on another recruit. Just like the others before him, he died immediately, with a bullet between the eyes.</p><p>Once Wrex reached the entrance and set Shepard down, Liara immediately took her hands in her own. “Thank the goddess!”</p><p>“Wait a minute…” Shepard blinked rapidly and looked around in confusion. “Why are the doors already open?”</p><p>The trio quietly creeped through the landing to discover that several Eclipse mercenaries had somehow already gathered up on the ground floor inside Archangel’s base. From what Shepard could tell, they didn’t appear to be just more bait for Archangel. She couldn’t be certain what exactly they were doing, but they weren’t firing on anyone right now. One of them, a salarian, appeared to be fussing with a door just beyond a staircase leading above, probably trying to hack it open. </p><p>Without warning, the salarian began scurrying down the staircase, covering his head. Shepard sharply inhaled when the telltale boom of an explosive went off. They were trying to bust onto the next floor, which was undoubtedly Archangel’s perch!</p><p>“Stop them!” she exclaimed and Wrex grinned widely, taking but a moment to refocus his biotic abilities. </p><p>All the mercenaries whirled about at the sound of her voice, but it was too late.</p><p>Wrex charged into the group, waving his arms around wildly. Like a bowling ball taking out a full set of pins, the men were either trampled or knocked over. While they were vulnerable, Shepard and Liara opened fire, their semi automatic pistols ripping apart the mercenaries' shields and armor.</p><p>The salarian gaped at them all in a slightly comical expression. </p><p>“They’re with Archangel!” he finally cried out, only to be immediately silenced with a shot to the head from Archangel himself. </p><p>“Wrex!” Shepard shouted. “Look out!”</p><p>Wrex, in his exuberance, had nearly crashed into the opposite wall. With the grace of a turtle twenty times its size, he pushed off the wall with his hands before spinning around. Luckily for him, his barrier was still active when Archangel fired on his face. The shot wasn’t enough to take down the barrier entirely, but another shot would most certainly strike skin. Thick as it was, he’d likely survive the impact, but it certainly wouldn’t be pretty. </p><p>Accordingly, Wrex balled up his fists before holding his forearms over his face as he sprinted back towards his companions. Archangel hit the hump on his back before Wrex managed to return to the safety of the landing. The shot merely grazed his armor, but it fully destroyed his barrier. “What a damn showoff…”</p><p>“If we stay here in this landing, I believe we’re safe from Archangel,” Liara affirmed. “He must be right above us.” </p><p>“Hold the entrances.” Shepard ordered, activating her omni-tool and tucking herself into a corner. “I’ll see if I can’t get a map of this place.”</p><p>“Gone quiet out there.” Wrex held his assault rifle close. “But I doubt it will be for long.”</p><p>“Do you think they’ve figured out that we’re not on their side?” Liara wondered aloud. “That salarian did, but I think he passed away before he could communicate it with anyone outside.” </p><p>“Maybe, maybe not. But they’ll find out soon enough.” Wrex looked over at her before awkwardly shuffling his feet. “Oh, and, uh… sorry for the rough treatment back there.”</p><p>Liara smiled softly, “Think nothing of it! You saved my life back there, and I thank you for it.”</p><p>“Got it!” Shepard rose, smiling triumphantly. “Archangel <em> is </em> right above us. And his base is pretty sick. Three floors total; two stories, a basement, several rooms. It’s best if we stay here for now, but there’s a couple tunnels in the--”</p><p><em> Who are you people? </em> a foreign voice asked over their radio comms. <em> And what are you doing here? </em></p><p>“That... didn’t sound like Joker…” Liara whispered, looking over at Shepard, who regarded her with an equally startled expression. </p><p>
  <em> I know you can hear me. So I’ll ask again: who are you? </em>
</p><p>“Your mom,” Wrex answered before giving the others a cheeky grin. He then proceeded to laugh at his own joke. </p><p>Liara looked to Shepard with a puzzled expression. “What is he... talking about?”</p><p>Shepard groaned, “It’s a damn meme. And an old one too. He saw it on the extranet once. Like… I don’t even know.”</p><p>
  <em> What? Who is this?  </em>
</p><p>“Didn’t you hear me the first time? I <em> said </em> it’s your mom!” Wrex wheezed. </p><p>
  <em> Enough! Just tell me why you’re here. What are you doing in my base?  </em>
</p><p>“All your base…” Wrex was having way too much fun here, “are belong to us!”</p><p>
  <em> What?! </em>
</p><p>Shepard sighed, “This is Commander Shepard.”</p><p>
  <em> Commander Shepard?  </em>
</p><p>“Right. Is this Archangel?”</p><p><em> Yes</em>, he paused. <em> Head upstairs. We need to talk. </em></p><p>She shared an anxious look with Liara before retrieving her pistol and heading for the staircase. </p><p>Wrex followed after them, still cracking up. “His mom…”</p><p>Figuring it would lead to Archangel, Shepard entered the doorway that had been blasted open thanks to the salarian. The room beyond was rather large, with not much inside other than upturned furniture for cover. The windows were expansive and blown out, and she could see a blue armored turian crouched beside the window facing the bridge.</p><p>She lowered her pistol and nodded to him. “Archangel.”</p><p>He held up a finger, signalling them to wait. Within moments, he fired off one last shot before  rising and turning to meet them. Shepard expected him to remain there, but to her surprise, he pulled off his helmet and set it aside on one of the few surfaces that remained upright. His face revealed, she now knew that Archangel was indeed their target. </p><p>He steadily approached them until he reached an upturned sofa. He sat on it without bothering to turn it upright and slightly propped up his feet on some random rubble from the blasted door. He appeared weary, leaning heavily on his knees and somewhat on his sniper rifle tucked beside his leg. </p><p>“Commander Shepard,” he said with a small nod, by way of greeting. “Garrus Vakarian.”</p><p>She had no idea why he had chosen to introduce himself to her, and this strangeness was compounded by the fact that he had introduced himself exactly the same way the first time they had met, back when he was C-Sec.  </p><p>“So,” he was slightly breathless as he continued, “what brings the first human Spectre all the way out here?”</p><p>Her stomach somersaulted. Admittedly, it had been doing strange things the entire time she had watched him sit there before her. </p><p>Since when was Garrus this… well, hot?</p><p>There was something about the way he was sitting there, taking up all that space…</p><p>This just didn’t compute. She had remembered Garrus as an honest and decent person, awkwardly passionate about his work but yet still quite careful about how he presented himself. As such, he always remained politely mindful of how much space he took up. But now, here he was, all sprawled out and just… honestly not giving a shit about any of that anymore. She didn’t quite know why, but this change in him was stirring up certain feelings in her. </p><p>Uh, wait. No. No, it wasn’t.  </p><p>It was probably because she could now associate Archangel with a face, and not just any face, but one she already knew. And well, one that wasn’t exactly bad-looking to begin with… </p><p>Wait. What?</p><p>Anyway he had asked a question just now. And she still needed to answer...</p><p>“W-well, ah…” </p><p>Both Liara and Wrex’s heads snapped to her, simultaneously startled and confused. It wasn’t like her to falter, especially not when her guard was supposed to be up. </p><p>Commander Shepard was engaging with a target right now, and this… well, this wasn’t how she was supposed to do that.     </p><p>Shepard coughed into the crook of her arm. “Sorry. Frog in my throat.”</p><p>“Hmm… I’d offer you some water, but I’m fresh out.”</p><p>She couldn’t quite tell by his tone if he was kidding or not, so she decided to just ignore that statement. </p><p>“Apparently some mercenary activity has popped up onto the Council’s radar. Headed here only to find out that every merc organization in the Terminus systems is teaming up to take out one guy,” she paused for a moment before indicating Wrex. “My friend’s people have a saying: ‘seek out the enemy of your enemy, and you’ll find a friend.’ Figured we’d lend you a hand.”</p><p>“Damn, Shepard. You remembered!” Wrex turned to her, touched by her memory. “Look at you, twisting all my heart strings over here.” </p><p>“How could I forget?” she smirked. “It’s how we met, after all.”</p><p>“Um, I’m not so sure that saying’s really the best for, ah…” Liara pointed out, but she ultimately shook her head. “Actually, never mind.” </p><p>Vakarian regarded them for a moment before continuing. “Tell you what: you three get me out of here alive, and I’ll tell you everything I know about any mercenary organization you pick. I’ll even help you take them out, as a special treat.”</p><p>Shepard rolled her shoulders to loosen up a little. “Deal.”</p><p>His mandibles pulled away from his face, revealing a smile. But his brow plates furrowed, transforming the normally friendly gesture to a devious one. </p><p>To be perfectly honest, even when turians <em> were </em> giving out perfectly friendly smiles, they tended to look a tad terrifying anyways. It was most likely due to how sharp their teeth were.  </p><p>“So how’d you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus Systems?” Wrex wanted to know.</p><p>“It wasn’t easy. I <em> really </em> had to work at it,” Garrus practically hummed. “I am surprised they all decided to team up against me though. They must <em> really </em>hate me.”</p><p>“You bet your ass they do!” Wrex laughed. </p><p>Shepard’s stomach started somersaulting all over again. She mentally berated herself. This man probably murdered Nihlus, and here she was, practically about to throw up because his voice was… </p><p>Okay. This just didn’t make sense. Garrus was supposed to be straightlaced. At least, he used to be. But now, here he was, making light of three massive criminal organizations all gunning for his head. What the hell had happened to him?</p><p>“Let’s see what they’re up to…” Garrus rose and headed for the window leading to the bridge.</p><p>Shaking off her nerves, Shepard followed after him. After all, she was also skilled with a sniper rifle, and this perch was undoubtedly perfect for it. Liara and Wrex hung back, eyes on the door leading to the stairwell. </p><p>“Hmm…” Vakarian gazed through his scope down to the bridge below. After a few seconds, he tossed his rifle to Shepard. “Take a look.”</p><p>Not expecting him to literally hand over his weapon like that, Shepard nearly dropped it. She fumbled with it for a moment before finally getting it in an actual, solid grip. She half-expected him to laugh at her for this, but he didn’t say a word. Not even the slightest flicker of an expression crossed his face as he watched her handle the weapon. </p><p>She peered through the scope. </p><p>“Looks like they’re sending some scouts ahead,” he told her.</p><p>Several human sized mechs were marching over the rubble Wrex had left behind, along with a few salarians; judging by their armor, they were likely from the same team that the bomb expert had come from. </p><p>One of the mechs happened to line up in her crosshairs, so she took the shot. “A little more than scouts. One less now, though.”</p><p>“So it seems.” She handed back his weapon, and he nodded to her. “I’ll stay up here. Can do a lot of damage from this angle.”</p><p>She unholstered her own rifle from her back. “I’ll join you, if you don’t mind.”</p><p>“Not at all.”</p><p>“Shepard,” Wrex nodded to her. “We’ll cover the stairs.”</p><p>“Do it.” She dropped her bag of spare thermal clips onto the ground between herself and Garrus. “Here. Take what you need.”</p><p>His mandibles fluttered practically every which way. “Did the spirits send you?”</p><p>She didn’t quite know what he meant, so she decided to just crack a small smile and shrug. Now wasn’t exactly the time for questions.</p><p>She had to hand it to him. This base was the perfect setup. Sniping these fools was too easy, especially with Garrus backing her. Because they were on the second floor, she didn’t even need to duck for cover half the time, making lining up her shots faster and easier than ever. She could certainly see now why Garrus had lasted as long as he did, even entirely on his own. </p><p>Her only fear was other snipers, but even they had to poke out from cover before firing. And the moment they did, either she or Garrus took them out before they could even hope to line up a decent shot. A few mercs managed to slip past when the throngs of enemies were especially thick, but Shepard was certain Wrex and Liara were more than a match for them.</p><p>Eventually, the mech she had sabotaged earlier was released (with great fanfare by the way), only for it to start firing on the very mercs who had unleashed it. </p><p>Garrus let out a small laugh. “Looks like someone made a mistake.”</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>By the time the mercs had managed to destroy the monster of their own making, the two of them had already taken out half the remaining forces. Before long, the last merc standing crumpled to the ground. </p><p>“They’ve barely touched me!” Garrus rose, looking to Shepard with clear enthusiasm. “We keep this up, living through this seems like a real possibility!”</p><p>“Possibility?” she echoed. “No, we’re getting out of this alive.” </p><p>“I admire your confidence.”</p><p>A deep rumble reverberated throughout the building and the subsequent tremor caused Shepard to stumble. “What was that?”</p><p>Alarms began to sound. Shepard looked to Garrus for answers, but he merely stared straight ahead, into the distance. She knew enough from interacting with Nihlus and others that when a typical turian got that faraway look in their eyes, there wasn’t much anyone could do to snap them out of it. And if she didn’t know what a turian was thinking, she would usually just look at their mandibles to give away what they were feeling. It obviously wasn’t always the best tell, but it was better than nothing. Garrus’ were only slightly pulled from his face, and they weren’t moving at all. That likely meant whatever he was thinking about, it was probably grim.</p><p>He sighed, seemingly returning back to this plane of existence. He activated his omni-tool. “Oh well. I suppose they had to start using their brains eventually.”</p><p>“What’s happening?”</p><p>He scrolled through a few screens before apparently finding proof of what he was suspecting. “They’ve broken into the tunnels.”</p><p>Liara and Wrex returned, looking perplexed. “Shepard?”</p><p>“They’ve breached the building,” she supplied before turning to Garrus. “What should we do?”</p><p>“We can activate the shutters.” He glanced back at the bridge and did a double take. “Damn it! I’ll handle these mercs; you take your team and head downstairs. Closest shutter is beyond the door behind the stairs. Radio me if you need directions. Now hurry!”</p><p>“Liara, guard the door. If anyone slips past Garrus, you’ll have to take them out.”</p><p>“Shepard…” Liara looked towards Garrus, her trepidation written all over her face.</p><p>“It’s just like what we said before. If you protect him, he’ll protect you.” Shepard turned to Garrus, who was already lining up his next shot. “Watch over her.”</p><p>“I’ll do what I can,” he admitted. “Now hurry up! There’s not much we <em> can </em>do if we get overwhelmed from all sides. We need those shutters closed right away!”</p><p>“Wrex, you’re with me,” Shepard nodded, rushing on ahead. </p><p>By the time they reached the breach, the place was swarming with mercs. Shepard dove behind cover and swore under her breath. And there were how many breaches again?</p><p>“Finally!” Wrex bellowed, his biotic barriers flaming on. “This will be a battle to remember!”</p><p>With that said, he charged into the fray, blasting off his shotgun as he went. It was times like these when she especially loved Wrex.</p><p>With him keeping the majority of the mercenaries busy, this allowed Shepard the freedom to snipe from her cover point. Someone eventually tossed a grenade her way, but she managed to scurry over to a new position without too much trouble. All thanks to Wrex’s commotion, of course.</p><p>It became rhythmic, almost. Pop out from cover to pick a target, pop out again to fire, rinse and repeat. If the opposing cover fire got a bit too hot, she also had the map on her omni-tool to guide her aim. All things considered, things were working out as smoothly as they could be, given the situation. She slowly but steadily gained in position until she caught sight of a panel on the wall. The shutter!</p><p><em> Shepard! </em> Garrus had reopened a channel. <em> You need to close that shutter! There are still two more, so you really need to hurry! </em></p><p>“I know!” she hissed. </p><p>Among the throng of mercenaries, a krogan was starting to emerge from the end of the tunnel, well beyond the shutter doors. Her heart leapt up into her throat as she made a reckless dash to the shutter controls. She really didn’t need a krogan on top of everyone else being thrown at her today. She slammed the button to close the shutter.</p><p><em>Good!</em> <em>You’ll need to keep the area clear for twenty seconds in order for the shutter to close, so make sure you lay down some cover fire!</em></p><p>“What the hell?!” Shepard frantically fired her pistol to comply, while Wrex followed suit with his assault rifle. “Why can’t they just close when I say so?!”</p><p>
  <em> It’s a safety protocol, Shepard. They can’t just let doors that heavy close with people underneath them. </em>
</p><p>“Then disable it!” she shrieked, just barely able to keep her shields from giving out on her. </p><p><em> I can’t; it’s embedded in the-- </em>!</p><p>At that moment, the doors closed, trapping the remaining mercs behind it. Shepard sank to the floor, unable to contain her relief.</p><p>
  <em> Fantastic work, Shepard! There are only two left now. </em>
</p><p>“Two… more…” She was already breathless and exhausted from the effort of closing just one.</p><p>“Come on, sister!” Wrex pulled her to her feet. “Today will be glorious!”</p><p>They headed for the next breach, only to encounter a similar situation. Thankfully, Wrex was still raring to go, so they prepared to follow a similar approach to last time. This time, however, there was a pack of varren added to the mix. Shepard did her best to take them out first, since they loved charging in close with their vicious bites. A few managed to slip past her and Wrex’s assault, so Shepard pulled out her pistol to fire on them and kicked those that charged up into her face to keep them back. Wrex, meanwhile, just blasted any that dared approach him with his shotgun. After they were all taken down, the two could finally focus on their two-legged opponents. </p><p>
  <em> Shepard, you need to hurry!  </em>
</p><p>“I know!” She wanted to remove her helmet to wipe away the sweat on her brow, but she knew doing that was suicide. “I’m trying my best here; I’m not immortal!”</p><p>Just then, Wrex ran past, laughing maniacally as he proceeded to knock over and trample a squadron of about a dozen mercenaries, all the while firing off his shotgun at whoever didn’t die quickly enough. </p><p>Okay. Maybe Wrex was immortal, but she wasn’t.</p><p>
  <em> Shepard, they’re going to overtake the base if you don’t close those shutters! You have to hurry! </em>
</p><p>“I’m well aware!” </p><p>Finally she was close enough to the breach to see the shutter control panel. Figuring Wrex would finish off the remaining enemies, she ran for it.</p><p>
  <em> Excellent! Now hold the line for twenty seconds! </em>
</p><p>The cover fire from her pistol alone was not enough to halt the mercs’ advance, and the door failed to close.</p><p>
  <em> Clear the way and try again! </em>
</p><p>“Wrex!” She pressed herself to the wall, hoping to take a second to replenish her shields’ strength. “I need your help!”</p><p>He slammed the human he had been grappling with into the wall, killing him instantly. “I’m on it!”</p><p>With his help, they were able to clear the way, and Shepard slammed the shutter shut. Their combined cover fire was enough to hold the mercs back long enough to finally close the breach.</p><p>
  <em> Perfect! Only one left. </em>
</p><p>Shepard sagged against the wall and gave Wrex a weary thumbs up. </p><p>He laughed, his face and body soaked in blood. “Only just warming up!”</p><p>The last breach went much like the first. Thankfully, there were no varren this time, only mercenaries of nearly every race and creed. The pair followed the same strategy as before, Wrex tanking like the boss that he was with Shepard picking off enemies from behind cover. Garrus still pestered her over the radio now and then, informing her yet again of the gravity of the situation. But after they finally managed to shut the last gate, she was surprised to hear not a word from Garrus.</p><p>“We managed to close the last shutter,” she informed him over the radio. </p><p>After a long pause with no response, she grew concerned. “Hello? Garrus? … Liara? You read me?” </p><p>She looked to Wrex, who indicated with a jerk of his head that they should head back. They had just reached the stairs when she heard Liara’s voice over the comms.</p><p>
  <em> Shepard? It’s me.  </em>
</p><p>“We just closed the last shutter. What’s going on up there?”</p><p>
  <em> It’s Garrus. He… An airship attacked us. I managed to hide, but Garrus… By the Goddess, Shepard! There’s so much blood… </em>
</p><p>Shepard and Wrex reached her just then, startled to find Garrus lying in a pool of his own blood. </p><p>Liara was hovered beside him. “He’s not breathing, Shepard…!” She covered her mouth and moved aside, allowing them to take a closer look.</p><p>Wrex gently turned him onto his back. At that moment, a ragged gasp erupted from Garrus. </p><p>“Call Joker; get us an evac now!” Shepard ordered, and Liara immediately opened up a channel.</p><p>Wrex pulled out some medi-gel and began applying it wherever he could. It would help, but it was no substitute for a doctor; and Shepard knew that was what he obviously needed right now.</p><p>Garrus was struggling to breathe, his eyes wide open in an attempt to keep himself from passing out. It looked like his injuries were largely above his lungs, so Shepard wasn’t quite sure why exactly he was breathing like that; but she knew she needed to encourage him to keep it up.     </p><p>“Yes, that’s right. You’re doing good, Garrus. Just breathe. Stay with us.” </p><p>She put a hand on his shoulder (although, with his armor, he most likely didn’t even feel it), leaned in close, and caught his eye, trying to give him something to focus on other than the wall or the pain. He made a strangled noise, and she noticed his hand tensing over his rifle.</p><p>“Don’t worry; it’s okay…” </p><p>She gently reached for his other hand. He instinctively resisted her touch. </p><p>“Garrus, listen. You’re safe now. We took care of the mercenaries. Wrex and me. All of them are gone. Everything is going to be fine. Just relax.” </p><p>She gently persisted in reaching for his hand, trying her best to soothe him. A panicked state of mind would only cause him to lose more blood faster, that she knew well. </p><p>Eventually, he allowed her to hold his hand. He squeezed it.  </p><p>“You’ll see a doctor soon. Everything will be okay.”</p><p>~1~</p><p>“Do you think he’ll... survive?” Liara asked, sitting on the edge of her seat in the comm room, her hands clasped together tightly. </p><p>“He took a missile to the collarbone,” Shepard frowned. “Dr. Chakwas says he’s not out of the woods yet, but she does feel optimistic.” </p><p>Wrex gave her a sidelong look. “You restrained him, <em> right </em>?” </p><p>“Of course not,” Shepard snapped. “I’m not authorizing anything like that while he’s in such a state.”</p><p>“Your ‘compassion’ is going to bite you in the ass one of these days,” he told her. “Let’s just hope that day <em> isn’t </em>today.”</p><p>“I’ve got an armed guard keeping an eye out for the doctor. We also took away his weapons, so there won’t be a problem.” Shepard rose to leave. “I’ll be in my cabin, if there’s anything else.”</p><p>“No, m’am.” Wrex returned to his data pad. </p><p>Liara nodded in agreement.</p><p>~2~</p><p>Shepard frowned at her data pad. Apparently the back channels of Omega were buzzing with news of Archangel’s death. A little premature obviously, but she supposed it wasn’t unlike a band of mercenaries to waste an opportunity to gloat. Especially after they had invested so much into making it happen. </p><p>She was just about to check if she had any updates from Dr. Chakwas when static burst onto her radio. </p><p>
  <em> ...mander? We’ve got a pr--! </em>
</p><p>“Joker? I can hardly hear you. What’s happening?”</p><p>
  <em> Commander, listen carefully.  </em>
</p><p>Joker’s voice was still corrupted by the static, but at least she could understand him now.</p><p>
  <em> Communications are down. It’s about everything we can do just to speak to you right now! </em>
</p><p>“Talk to me.”</p><p>
  <em> We first lost contact with the third floor, and now we can’t--! All communications on all decks are down.  </em>
</p><p>Her eyes narrowed. That was where the medical bay was, and by extension, Garrus. </p><p>“Where’s Garrus?”</p><p>
  <em> We don’t know. Plus, the elevator’s out of our control, and it’s headed y--!  </em>
</p><p>A garbled mess of static overtook his voice before the communication link cut entirely.</p><p>“Joker? … Joker? Are you there? Joker!” </p><p>Figuring that her intercom was just as useless as the comm links, she activated her omni-tool and started to hurry over to her armor storage. </p><p>But before she could take more than a few steps, the familiar sound of her door opening up prompted her to halt in her tracks. Within seconds, a certain armored turian stormed the room, immediately pointing a pistol in her direction.</p><p>Her weapons back in the hangar, and in nothing but the unarmored clothes on her back, Shepard held up her hands to surrender. </p><p>“Commander Shepard,” Garrus said quietly. “Your ship belongs to me now.” </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Back to Omega</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Garrus takes command of the Normandy, and Shepard has no choice but to follow his orders.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This isn't new content; I split the first original two chapters into four.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Commander Shepard,” Garrus said quietly. “Your ship belongs to me now.” </p><p>Shepard took a moment to study him before responding. He was holding a standard Alliance issued pistol, which meant he had likely taken it from another member of the crew. She just hoped the crewmate had surrendered the weapon without injury, or worse. </p><p>The right side of Garrus’ face was heavily scarred, from the bottom of his jaw and mandible up to the top of his cheek plate. A large bandage covered the side of his head all the way down to his neck. The exposed wounds on his face still looked quite fresh, but they were no longer bleeding. Still, if she had the opportunity to attack him, that’d definitely be the place to strike.</p><p>“No one would give me a mirror,” he told her, indicating that he knew she was looking over the extent of his wounds. “How bad is it?”</p><p>“It’s... going to leave some scars.” She wasn’t certain of what to say to him, so she figured she’d just be honest for now. “Dr. Chakwas was saying some of them might never fade away.”</p><p>“Hmm.” He didn’t look too surprised. “Could always be worse. I hear some women <em> do </em>find facial scars attractive… Mind you, most of those women are krogan.”</p><p>Her stomach flipped. Did he just subtly mention that he was single <em> and </em>straight? That was… actually kind of smooth. Too bad there was a gun pointed at her face.</p><p>Actually, this was extremely strange. Who flirts with someone at a time like this? A creep, that’s who. </p><p>Her jaw clenched. But she relaxed soon enough, slipping into a comfortable mask. She was an infiltrator, after all. Any fear only made her a better actress.</p><p>“Anyway, you’re in pretty rough shape.” She started to lower her hands. “Careful not to strain yourself. Might start bleeding out all over again.”</p><p>“Don’t move.” </p><p>“You’ve got armor <em> and </em> a weapon pointed at my face; and you’re <em> still </em>afraid?” she smirked. “What are you, a cop?” </p><p>He bristled, “I couldn’t care less about any of that. Just don’t want you getting any clever ideas. Now hand over your omni-tool.”</p><p>She deactivated it and ejected it from its port. She held it in her hand and hesitated, uncertain of how best to hand it over without further frightening our terrified little cop. </p><p>“Get on your knees.”</p><p>A wave of fear leapt up into her throat. She swallowed, and a rueful smile crossed her face. “I can’t do that right now.”</p><p>He looked annoyed. “Why not?”</p><p>“I’m wearing a dress.”</p><p>“That doesn’t matter. Do it.”</p><p>She awkwardly complied. </p><p>“Put the omni-tool on the ground.”</p><p>She dropped it.</p><p>“Hands behind your head.”</p><p>She looked at him with disgust. “Are you serious?”</p><p>“Entirely.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes and blew out a breath of air, but she followed along.</p><p>He quickly took the device and attached it to his armor, all while keeping the pistol trained on her with his free hand. “Now remove your radio. Slowly.”</p><p>She removed her earpiece and set it on the ground.</p><p>He crushed it underfoot.</p><p>“What the hell?!” Shepard exclaimed, incredulous.</p><p>He startled, pointing the gun closer to her head.</p><p>She quickly replaced her hands behind her head. “That was expensive, you know. You better be ready to foot the bill… Asshole.”  </p><p>He then maintained his distance. “Alright. As you were.”</p><p>She rose to her feet. “Now that you’re done stealing and destroying my stuff, you mind telling me what this is all about? The fuck do you want?”</p><p>“All in due time,” he nodded to her. “But I suggest you remain cooperative, as it’s more than just your life at stake here.”</p><p>“Yeah?” She smoothed out her clothes before looking him in the eye. “Well, I ‘suggest’ you back the hell off. You want my ship? Fine. Take it. Just be prepared to face the consequences. You’ve got the Council on your ass now, son.” </p><p>Of course, they already were. But that was beside the point. Sort of.</p><p>“Well, I won’t actually need it for long.” Garrus’ damaged mandible fluttered to the side, revealing a smirk. “What I’m really after is you. But we’ll get to that.”</p><p>That wave of fear warbled deep in her stomach, but she let out a short, unimpressed laugh. “I’ll save you the trouble. I don’t want anything to do with your ugly ass.”</p><p>“Let’s see if I can’t change your mind.” </p><p>She folded her arms over her chest with an air of disaffected coolness, but her heart started to pound. “Good luck with that.”</p><p>“Commander Shepard.” The smirk remained on his face. “You took away my weapons, but you failed to take my omni-tool.” </p><p>With that said, he lowered the pistol, watching her reaction.</p><p>Realization dawned on her quickly. She glared at him. “What have you done?”</p><p>His mandibles pulled away from his face in a devilish smile. “Not much. Just set up one of my favorite programs. Got it ready to run on the third floor. It’s the one that disables any electrical safety protocols that are in place and then immediately overloads all systems. It runs on my command. Remote, locally, doesn’t matter. Oh, and it also automatically activates if I lose consciousness. Or if my visor is destroyed.”</p><p>“I can’t verify any of that without my omni-tool,” Shepard pointed out. </p><p>“It looks like you’ll just have to trust me.” He was enjoying himself a bit too much. “Or would you prefer to call my bluff? It’s your crew’s lives you’d be gambling with, as you know.”</p><p>She made a small sweeping motion with her outstretched palm. “Do I have a choice?”</p><p>“No, not really.”</p><p>She flipped him the bird.</p><p>“You know, I always find it amusing when humans decide to show off one of their more useless fingers,” Garrus nodded in appreciation. “I assume it’s supposed to make me angry? Can’t really imagine how, but… sure, consider me insulted.”</p><p>“Go to hell.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. I’m already there.” There was a note of seriousness in his voice, which made her pause for a moment.</p><p>“Ah, so you think <em> you </em> have it rough.” Shepard folded her arms again. “You know, it wasn’t that long ago that I held your hand as you lay there dying on the floor. And I seem to remember it was <em> my </em> work and <em> my </em> crew that saved your life. And you repay all of that by waving a gun in my face and taking my crew hostage! So yeah, tell me again about how <em> you’re </em>having a hard time!”</p><p>His posture suddenly deflated, and he hung his head. “You’re... right. I…”</p><p>This would be her moment to attack him; <em> if </em> he wasn’t wearing armor, <em> and </em> if he didn’t have a pistol on his hip; <em> and </em> if he didn’t have significantly better hand to hand fighting ability, <em> and </em>if he wasn’t holding her crew hostage… </p><p>She let the moment pass with a sigh.</p><p>“I am sorry, Shepard. I truly am. I appreciate what you’ve done for me, and I know I can’t make it up to you properly. But…” he shook his head, “there is something I must do, and I need your help to do it.”</p><p>“Yeah? And just who the hell do you think you are? Huh?” she scowled. “You think I don’t have my own shit to deal with? What makes <em> your </em>problems so damn special?”</p><p>He finally met her gaze. “You humans have a saying: ‘an eye for an eye.’ A life for a life. Well, I’ve got someone who owes me ten lives, and I won’t rest until I make that right.”</p><p>She shook her head and threw out her hands. “Man, fuck you.”</p><p>He ignored her and glanced around her cabin. His eyes settled on her armor storage. “Is that where you keep your armor?”</p><p>“Yes…” she replied, casting him an odd look.</p><p>“Go ahead and put it back on. You’ll need it.”</p><p>“So there it is!” She rounded on him, her fists clenched. “Is this how you get your kicks?”</p><p>He took a step back, blinking awkwardly and regarding her with an air of confusion. “Ah… no, I’m not going to kick anything. Don’t worry.” </p><p>He started to back away. “Anyway, go and get ready. I’ll meet you outside.”</p><p>Her stance relaxed, and he took that as a cue to leave without the need to keep an eye on her. </p><p>It was only after she heard the familiar swoosh of her door closing before she leapt to her intercom. It didn’t work, and her laptop wouldn’t either. She couldn’t hack into anything with a frozen device, so she gave up and left to suit up.</p><p>He was waiting for her near the elevator. She could tell by its lighting that he had most likely hacked it to work only as he saw fit. </p><p>She was a fool to not take away his omni-tool when she had the chance. However, it was of turian design, and therefore, she hadn’t an idea at the time of how to remove it from him. And of course, with him dying on the operating table, she figured there were more pressing matters to attend to than fiddling around with an unknown technology. At the time, she had just wanted to get out of Dr. Chakwas’ way as quickly as possible.</p><p>“Remove your helmet,” he told her as soon as she entered the elevator.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Because I need you to.”</p><p>She didn’t really know where to place it, so she set it on the ground beside her. Garrus tapped away at his omni-tool and the elevator sprang to life, the doors closing immediately. He then moved behind her and retrieved the pistol, pointing it to her head. His free hand wrapped around her arm, just below her shoulder.</p><p>“You’re too close.” She squirmed, pulling away from the hand on her arm. </p><p>“I have to be here,” he insisted. “Otherwise they’re going to shoot at me the moment those doors open.”   </p><p>“No, I meant you’re too close to…” she trailed off and moved her arm slightly to emphasize her point. She hoped he would get the idea because she really didn’t want to have to spell it out.</p><p>Baffled, Garrus looked down to discover the issue. She had pulled away from his hand as much as she could, but if she hadn’t, the fingers curled around her arm would be resting right against the side of her chest. </p><p>“Oh! Right--!” </p><p>His former C-Sec training on human cultures finally kicking in, he startled, hurriedly shifting his grasp to hold on to her elbow instead. He had completely forgotten how sensitive humans were about those fat deposits on their chests.</p><p>For all his exploits as Archangel, he had never actually taken a hostage before. Even back when he worked at C-Sec, he had only made a handful of arrests personally. Most of his time had been in the investigations unit, dealing primarily with witnesses and evidence rather than with suspects. If any criminal informants were involved in his cases, they had usually already been detained by the time they came to see him. </p><p>Of course he’d choose right now to make such a nookie mistake. “I’m sorry; I… wasn’t thinking.”</p><p>“Whatever. I’ve got my eye on you.”</p><p>It was at that moment that the doors opened, revealing a swarm of crewmates led by Wrex, all with their weapons drawn. Garrus tightened his grip on her elbow and pressed his pistol into the side of her head. </p><p>“Lower your weapons,” Shepard told them. “It’s not just my life on the line here.”</p><p>“What?” Wrex’s grip on his weapon tightened. “Explain.”</p><p>She quickly informed them of Garrus’ program and how it effectively held all of deck three hostage. She also told them of the various ways he had set it to activate, which indicated that there wasn’t much they could actually do to free them. Throughout the explanation, Wrex’s eye twitched with increasing anger.</p><p>“You heard her,” Garrus said coolly. “Drop your weapons.”</p><p>Wrex threw his weapon to the ground in a fit of rage, and the rest of the crew followed suit (though admittedly less aggressively than their leading officer).</p><p>Garrus released his hold on Shepard and holstered his pistol. “I’m glad we understand each other.” </p><p>He slowly marched past the guards, his eyes pointedly on Wrex as his mandibles pulled away from his face, revealing a smug smile.  </p><p>“Damn <em> pyjak </em>!” Wrex spat. “What the hell do you want from us?”</p><p>“The commander and I are going to go for a trip.” </p><p>Garrus headed for the bridge, his stride slow and deliberate, obviously delighting in rubbing Wrex’s face with his loss. He could go wherever he wanted on this ship, and there wasn’t a thing Wrex could do about it. They both knew that, and that knowledge was making Wrex more furious by the minute. </p><p>“And you think I’m just going to hand her over?!” Wrex seethed. “I’d sooner rip those damn plates off your face!” </p><p>“Wrex,” Shepard warned. “Don’t let him get to you. Control yourself.” </p><p>“I <em> am </em>in control!” he bellowed and slammed his fists into the nearest console.</p><p>“Wrex, I’m serious.”</p><p>When he met her gaze, she turned her head so that her face was out of Garrus’ sight and winked. “I’ll handle this. Also, you’re paying to fix that.”</p><p>Wrex growled, apparently not too keen on dropping his bluster just yet. “Maybe start <em> actually </em> paying me first.” </p><p>A lot of talk for a man who got paid better than she did at that rank... But rather than press the issue, she turned, replaced her helmet, and followed after Garrus.</p><p>He made his way to the bridge with Shepard and Wrex in his wake. “I take it we’re still in Omega’s orbit?”</p><p>“You’d be correct,” Joker replied, still seated at the helm and with a tone that actually sounded guarded for once. </p><p>“Perfect. Take us in for a landing,” Garrus ordered. “You’ll have your commander back in due time.”</p><p>“And in the meantime?” Shepard pressed. “Are you trying to say that half my crew is confined to deck three while we run off doing who knows what?”</p><p>“Essentially, yes.”</p><p>Joker whirled his seat around for that one. “And what’s that supposed to mean? How are they supposed to <em> eat </em> ? How are <em> we </em>supposed to eat?”</p><p>“The crew confined to the deck are trapped along with the food stores. They’ll have plenty to eat, even long after we return,” Garrus insisted. “As for the rest of you, I suppose you’ll have to take some shore leave on Omega. Not the best place, sure, but there are plenty of halfway decent restaurants. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”</p><p>“I’ll shove that whole damn station right up your ass!” Wrex snapped.</p><p>Garrus turned and regarded him a few moments without saying anything. “You know what? Sure, go right ahead. I won’t even try to stop you.”</p><p>“Just watch me!” Wrex’s finger trembled with rage as he wagged it at Garrus.</p><p>The turian merely shook his head and turned to Shepard. “Now where are my weapons?”</p><p>“In the hangar. Along with mine.” </p><p>~1~</p><p>Upon returning to Omega, Garrus rented a sketchy ass vehicle. They hadn’t gotten far before Shepard spoke up. “Mind telling me where we’re going?”</p><p>“Back to my base.” He looked at her for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the path. “There’s some… loose ends I need to tie up first.”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>Garrus exhaled, “I… Well, I... didn’t work alone. There were twelve of us, including me.”</p><p>“Something happened to them,” she prompted.</p><p>Of course, she already knew this, but she didn’t want him to know how much she knew about him.</p><p>He took a deep breath. Several moments passed before he spoke again. “Yes. And it was my fault. A lack of judgement on my part.”</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>“We were betrayed.” Garrus’ mandibles were twitching, whether from anger or guilt; she wasn’t certain. “A man named Sidonis. He was one of our own, but…”</p><p>He shook his head, “I got complacent. We had just started making a good sum of money. Some of the crew started talking about retirement. Scaling back on our work, beginning to live lives free of the violence we had grown accustomed to each day. But I didn’t listen.”</p><p>Here he hesitated, as if to gather himself. </p><p>Shepard started to grow nervous. It wasn’t especially smart to drive while emotionally compromised, but somehow Garrus was still perfectly steady in his handling of it. He must drive more frequently than she thought.</p><p>“I pushed them to go further. Convinced them we had the funds now to go even bigger. Expand our operations to achieve even more than we already were. I was too ambitious, really. Stopping a few criminals wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to stop them all.”</p><p>He parked the vehicle, having arrived at their destination. He hung his head slightly, now staring at the steering apparatus. </p><p>His voice was thick with emotion. “I ignored my crew’s needs, and now, they’re gone.” </p><p>“You had no way of knowing what would happen.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” he shook his head, as if to clear the thoughts from it. “Let’s just head inside. I need to… gather up my people’s things. Send it to their families.”</p><p>“Want me to help?”</p><p>He shook his head yet again, “I really should handle this myself.”</p><p>She nodded and followed after him. </p><p>Apparently Garrus had had a female human among his crew. Upon clearing the room of her possessions, he offered it to Shepard for the meantime, since the bed’s style would suit her. He advised her to get some rest, as he would brief her on their mission after he was finished. He also assured her that if any stray merc came in, they’d know about it, since he had rigged the place long ago to defend against intruders. Thankfully, a scan of the place had informed him the system was working just as it had before the mercs had assaulted his base.</p><p>After he left, Shepard tossed her things unceremoniously to the floor and changed out of her armor. By that time, she figured Garrus would be busy enough clearing out the next room for her to snoop about without issue.</p><p>So she grabbed her bag and crept out in search of something to give her an edge. She had no idea what Garrus had in store for her, so at the very least, she wanted to get her hands on an omni-tool. With it, she could even contact her crew. She’d have to be careful about activating it, however, since omni-tools were incredibly easy to trace. She wasn’t certain how closely Garrus was monitoring her, and she certainly didn’t want to potentially lose something so valuable. She’d need to wait for the perfect moment. </p><p>That is, <em> if </em> she could find one in the first place. But omni-tools <em> were </em> quite handy, handy enough that nearly anyone with even a small degree of tech skill had one. And of course, they would often grow outdated too, which meant there <em> had </em>to at least be an old model lying around here somewhere. </p><p>She quietly slipped past the door of the next available room. As she expected, Garrus was inside. She could tell by the sound; she obviously wasn’t going to stand still long enough for him to catch sight of her. </p><p>After passing the open door, she hesitated, waiting for footsteps. She finally heard them headed in the opposite direction, followed soon after by a gentle scrape of a drawer opening. </p><p>Mission accomplished.</p><p>She headed down the hallway, passing two more rooms before randomly deciding to enter the next one. She scanned the room briefly (it was plain and only moderately furnished) before heading towards a desk and quietly searching through its contents. And there it was, waiting for her within the topmost drawer. She smiled widely at her prize. </p><p>An old omni-tool, a batarian model. Their tech tended to be less sophisticated than human models, but that mostly meant that it’d be just that much easier for her to exploit. At least easier than the damn turian ones. But then again, that might have been just because Garrus’ was heavily modified. She wouldn’t put it past him. At any rate, she quickly tucked the treasure away into her bag. </p><p>Searching the rest of the drawers turned up nothing. And that was because the desk itself was mostly empty. </p><p>What a minimalist. </p><p>She then searched through the armoire, only to find a handful of somewhat smelly clothes and a knife. She decided to leave it, figuring Garrus would find it fishy enough that there was barely anything in here to begin with. Besides, she wasn’t skilled with knives anyway. </p><p>She checked underneath the bed next, only to find it absolutely empty. She quietly rose and left, heading for the next room. </p><p>She had her hand on the door when Garrus’ voice stopped her. </p><p>“What’re you up to?” His tone was pleasantly fake, just like a cop when they’re feeling suspicious of you but don’t want you to know that. “I thought you were resting.</p><p>“Actually I was looking for you.” </p><p>She removed her hand from the door and clutched her free arm instead. </p><p>“Could you tell me where the restroom is?” Her tone matched his in terms of pleasant fakeness. “Can’t seem to find one around here.”</p><p>“Head all the way down the hall, and it’s to your right.” He indicated the direction with his thumb. “We had more of them, but they got destroyed. Or, mostly destroyed. Anyway, the one I mentioned is completely intact, thankfully.”</p><p>Unfortunately this meant she’d have to walk right past him. </p><p>“Ah, thanks.” She gave him a small nod and headed off. </p><p>She was just about to pass him when his voice halted her yet again. “What’s with the bag?”</p><p>This was why she hated cops. They noticed everything. </p><p>But it was okay. She already had a plan for this.</p><p>She let out a dramatic sigh before turning to face him. “If you must know, I keep my…” </p><p>Okay. Maybe being less specific would be better here. He probably didn’t know anything about human anatomy anyway. </p><p>“... menstrual hygiene things in here.”</p><p>“Menstrual hygiene?” he repeated, doubt apparent in his eyes. </p><p>He folded his arms and shifted his weight to one leg. “That’s a new one. You mind explaining what it means?”</p><p>“Sure.” She placed a hand on her hip, matching his attitude with one of her own. “So every month, many humans, mostly women, have this period of time where their uterine lining sheds. Obviously, if you don’t do anything to take care of it, you’ll have quite the mess on your hands.” </p><p>His brow plates lifted in surprise. “Really? I hadn’t heard of that before.” </p><p>He activated his omni-tool, tapping briefly before pausing to read. “Oh. Okay.</p><p>“So… hmm. Right. Well… learn something new everyday, I guess.” He deactivated the omni-tool. “Don’t let me stop you then.”</p><p>She started to leave but couldn’t resist asking one last question. “So are you always this suspicious of completely normal body functions, or is that just reserved for me?”</p><p>“You’d be surprised…” A weary look crossed his face. </p><p>“I used to work in security. Heard plenty of bullshit excuses in my time. I’m not as familiar with humans though,” he quickly added, by way of explanation. “They only gave me basic information, and I didn’t encounter enough humans during my time there to bother much with my own research.”</p><p>“I see.” </p><p>Upon leaving him and finally entering the bathroom, Shepard debated whether she should continue searching around. If Garrus caught her out again, he might take measures to keep her in line. Or worse, he might search her bag or her room, causing her to lose the omni-tool. </p><p>She frowned. </p><p>Well, that made up her mind. She wasn’t about to lose that device. At least not yet.</p><p>After washing her hands, she noticed a small book tucked away on the shelving nearby. She looked it over to discover it was written in what looked to be some kind of salarian dialect, which meant it obviously didn’t belong to Garrus. She could use returning this book as another excuse for why she was wandering about.</p><p>Feeling emboldened to renew her search, she followed another hallway which led to a single door. She pulled it open, only to discover a living space much like the squad mates’ rooms, only slightly larger. Since he was the leader, this room likely belonged to Garrus. He had three pillows on his bed, which meant she was better than him because she had four. But other than that, it was just like the other rooms, with no notable furniture other than a desk and an armoire. Oh yeah, and there was a turian military flag on the wall. </p><p>How boring.</p><p>She pulled open a desk drawer, only for an alarm to sound. </p><p>An alarm?! He rigged a damn <em> alarm </em> to go off when his <em> desk </em> was opened?! </p><p>Who the hell <em> does </em>that?!</p><p>She hurriedly shut the drawer, but the sound only continued to go off. She frantically searched around for a control panel, only to find none. So she made a run for it, only to nearly collide with Garrus when he entered the room in a panic. He instinctively made to block her path, but she backed away, knowing full well she was done for.</p><p>“It’s you,” he exhaled, his body immediately losing its tension. “Damn, you scared the hell out of me.” </p><p>He went to shut down the alarm before facing her with a tired sigh. “Now what are you doing in here?”</p><p>She had no answer other than the truth. “Can you really blame me? I have no idea what you’re about to put me through. Of course I’m going to wander around and try to find some answers.”</p><p>He took a breath. “Follow me.”</p><p>They headed to the ground floor. He replaced a fallen chair and indicated for her to sit on the nearest seat that wasn’t knocked over. “You remember Sidonis? The one who betrayed my team?” </p><p>She nodded. </p><p>“Well, while I was lying there in that hospital bed, I sent out some feelers, and I got a hit.”</p><p>“You sure don’t waste any time...”</p><p>“You know it,” he smirked. “There’s a man named Fade; works out of the Citadel. He’s an expert at making people disappear. I have reason to believe he’s hiding Sidonis.”</p><p>“So what happens when we find this Sidonis?”</p><p>“It’ll finally be time for him to face justice.”</p><p>“So you’re going to <em> murder </em>him?” Shepard narrowed her eyes. </p><p>He rose and started to walk away, the speed with which he did so made evident his frustration with her. “You don’t have to like it, Shepard. <em> I’ll </em> pull the trigger, and <em> I’ll </em>live with the consequences. I just need your help to track him down.”</p><p>“I thought you said your team’s deaths were on your hands.” </p><p>“They are.” Garrus regarded her carefully, his mandibles lightly twitching. “Because I should have seen it coming.”</p><p>“Are you... going to punish yourself too?” she asked quietly.</p><p>He turned away. “Like I said, <em> I’m </em> going to pull the trigger, and <em> I’m </em>going to face the consequences.” </p><p>Shepard hesitated a moment, realization slowly dawning on her. “Sidonis wasn’t just a member of your team. He was your friend.”</p><p>Garrus didn’t answer right away. “He was. Once.” </p><p>With that said, he gave her a small nod before turning to leave.</p><p>“Wait.” She held out the book she had found. She didn’t want to explore further, if it meant she might trigger more alarms or who knows what other traps. “Found this in the bathroom.”</p><p>He blinked with surprise before taking it from her. “Oh. Thank you.”</p><p>~2~</p><p>It was fairly late when she finally awoke. She had returned to the room to sleep after handing off the book to Garrus earlier. Now curious about his progress, she listened carefully, but she couldn’t hear a sound. He had probably already finished packing up his former squad’s things.</p><p>After suiting up and washing her face, she headed to his room, only to find him asleep at his desk. He had a laptop before him, and she crept closer, only to discover that he had been writing an email. It was written in galactic standard language, and it appeared to be expressing his condolences to a family member of a former squadmate. She immediately regretted looking at it. “Garrus?”</p><p>He startled, only to find it was just her. “Damn. I must have--”</p><p>“You should probably rest in bed,” she told him. “You haven’t properly slept since you took a rocket to the face. I’m not exactly eager to start a new mission with someone who’s this exhausted.”</p><p>“You have a point. A bit exaggerated maybe, but a point nonetheless.” </p><p>He turned to his laptop. “But this is my last message. I’ll finish up, and then we can stop to eat something. Oh.” He looked up at her. “Are you thirsty?”</p><p>She blinked. “What?”</p><p>“It’s important to stay hydrated.” His tone was entirely serious. </p><p>“Oh. Uh, yeah. Don’t worry; it’s okay. I brought my own rations and water. I’m fine.”</p><p>“I feel bad though. Been so busy I hadn’t even thought to offer you anything.”</p><p>“This isn’t a vacation,” she reminded him.</p><p>“No, it isn’t,” he exhaled and returned to his laptop. “Give me five minutes.”</p><p>Afterwards, they headed down to the food storage. Garrus opened up a pantry, only to find it completely bare. He blinked, apparently dumbfounded. </p><p>“Leave it to the mercs to steal all the food…” Shepard smiled weakly. </p><p>He opened up a freezer next, only to find it just as empty. “I guess we’re dining out tonight.”</p><p>~3~</p><p>“This place isn’t so bad,” Garrus indicated a neon sign up ahead of a krogan scurrying towards what looked like a pot of noodles. Surrounding him was merely the galactic standard word for “Food” in all capital letters.</p><p>“Food, huh?” Shepard raised an eyebrow. “How very original.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, for what it lacks in marketing, it makes up for in taste,” Garrus shrugged. “Plus it has both dextro and levo options. Unfortunately, there aren’t any human dishes… Actually I don’t think they serve human meals anywhere in this district.”</p><p>She shrugged and followed after him. He took a seat at the far end of the stall. Shepard adjusted the stool’s height dramatically before finally sitting beside him. </p><p>“Let me know if you need me to explain anything on the menu,” Garrus offered. </p><p>Shepard didn’t need to look for long to realize she didn’t recognize anything here. “Yeah. Help, please.”</p><p>“Which one?”</p><p>“All of them.”</p><p>“Uh… okay.” Garrus started patiently explaining things, but it became quite clear that Shepard didn’t understand his explanations either. After asking several questions with no new knowledge gained, she figured she’d just let him go.</p><p>Eventually, the barkeep headed over to them. “Sorry for the wait. Been a busy night.”</p><p>“No need for apologies,” Garrus smirked. “Figured we were past that sort of formality by now.” </p><p>The man did a double-take. “Vakarian?! I almost didn’t recognize you!” </p><p>He looked over Garrus’ scars before quickly averting his gaze.</p><p>Garrus awkwardly scratched his face. “Yeah… I guess that wouldn’t be too surprising, given the situation.”</p><p>The barkeep looked over Shepard next, curiosity in his eyes. “Is she a new friend, or…?” he trailed off, clearly wondering if they were an item but too polite to outright ask.</p><p>She slammed a hand onto the counter, causing both turians to startle. “If you must know, I’m here because I’m waiting for the perfect moment to kick this guy’s ass.”</p><p>“Oh.” The barkeep’s mandibles fluttered with fear. “I see. That’s… ah, understandable, I suppose.”  </p><p>He let out a nervous laugh. “Okay. So, ah… what will it be?”</p><p>“Uh…” It felt like the menu items were equations to solve rather than words. “Actually, I’ll just take a plate of whatever’s popular with the humans around here. And some booze.”</p><p>He quickly reached beneath the counter for a glass and a bottle. Apparently he figured getting some liquor in her sooner rather than later would be a good idea.</p><p>“That’s... green.” </p><p>The barkeep nodded. “Indeed. Freshly brewed.”</p><p>Whatever. It was probably good enough. Shepard guzzled down the entire glass immediately.</p><p>“Are you serious?!” Garrus exclaimed.</p><p>She shrugged. “Gotta survive this mission somehow.”</p><p>Shaking his head in disbelief, Garrus ordered for himself next, finally allowing the barkeep the chance to leave this awkward situation. </p><p>“How do you know him?” Shepard asked, indicating the barkeep.</p><p>“Ah… it was before my time as,” he coughed to discreetly mask his next word, “Archangel. Back then, some mercs were harassing the place, demanding they hand over everything. I put a stop to that.”</p><p>“With… guns?” She looked at him trepidatiously. </p><p>“No. With my fists, actually.”</p><p>“So you’re… friends with that guy?”</p><p>He paused a moment to consider. “Well, yes. I suppose so.”</p><p>“Nothing… more?” Shepard raised an eyebrow. The guy <em> was </em>awfully interested in learning what their relationship was to each other. </p><p>“More?” he repeated, his brow plates practically knitting together in confusion. “Oh, no. He’s not family or anything like that.”</p><p>Shepard gave him an odd look. </p><p>Okay. He was either extremely dense or homophobic. Hopefully not both. </p><p>While they waited for food, Shepard noticed him nervously playing with his hands. She looked at him briefly, but he was too busy staring at the countertop to notice her trying to catch his eye. So she gave up and ignored him.</p><p>“Um… hmm. So, ah…”</p><p>She turned to him, waiting for him to finish. </p><p>His mandibles were twitching erratically, and he kept looking between his wringing hands to her face. “...Yeah. It’s, um… <em> decent </em>weather today.”</p><p>“Yeah?” she echoed, unimpressed. </p><p>“Yeah,” he nodded. “Of course, the asteroid’s climate-controlled, so… ah… it’s always pretty decent… So--”</p><p>“Garrus,” she interrupted, fed up, “<em> what </em> is it?”</p><p>“Ah, well,” he scratched his face, “I heard that humans like to, ah... <em>engage </em>in small talk over meals. It helps to, ah… improve morale.”</p><p>“Garrus?”</p><p>“Yes?” he brightened, thinking she was now finally going to take the lead in providing conversation. </p><p>“Shut up.”</p><p>He let out a small, self-deprecating laugh. “Alright. I suppose that’s for the best. I was never really one for mingling. Unless the mingling involves sniper rifles.”</p><p>She smacked her palms to her face before responding. “You know what? I actually don’t really like ‘mingling’ with someone who thinks it’s okay to kidnap my crew and hold them hostage.”</p><p>“Right. Well, that’s... understandable.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know, right? Such a shock.”</p><p>His posture deflated. “Like I said, I’m not... very good at this.”</p><p>The food arrived shortly thereafter. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t reminiscent of anything she had tried before. She supposed it was vaguely like noodles, but heartier, somehow. She had no idea what Garrus was eating, but whatever it was, it looked highly unappealing. Like wilted cabbages. He seemed to be enjoying it though. </p><p>Actually, he kind of ate like a monster. Seemed like he just sort of swallowed shit whole. She wasn’t quite sure if this was common for turians or just a uniquely Garrus trait. Well, he wasn’t choking on any of it, so she figured it was fine.</p><p>Now that she was thinking of it, she had had a turian friend growing up, and he had also eaten rather ravenously. At the time, she had just assumed it was because he was afraid it might run out, like it was as if he was simply putting it away as fast he could. As for Nihlus’ eating habits, well, it seemed like food just sort of disappeared whenever it was around him. She never really saw him eat anything ever; it was like… he engorged his meals within literal seconds or something.</p><p>It seemed Garrus was similar, since he finished long before she did. Instead of complaining, like she thought he might, he just used the extra time to fiddle with his omni-tool. She couldn’t tell what exactly he was doing (her glances were brief, and she couldn’t read much from any turian languages), but whatever he was doing, he looked irritated.</p><p>“So,” she asked once they moved to leave, “how are we going to get to the Citadel?”</p><p>“I have a ship. It’s small, but it will do.”</p><p>~4~</p><p>His ship was indeed small. Hardly much larger than the Normandy’s shuttle. It was of typical turian design and looked vaguely new, but she could tell it hadn’t been used in a while, thanks to the stale air within the cabin. Despite its disuse, it appeared rather clean.</p><p>Garrus began tapping away at the controls. “Should reach the relay in a couple hours. From there, the Citadel isn’t but an hour.”</p><p>“Not much time for you to sleep,” Shepard pointed out.</p><p>“We needn’t land right away. Could stay in orbit awhile.”</p><p>“Good. We get into any trouble, I don’t want you crapping out on me in the middle of it.”</p><p>He chuckled, “Noted.” </p><p>He rose. “If you need me, I’ll be in the back, trying to get some shut eye.”</p><p>“Sure.” She waited until she heard the telltale swish of the door. </p><p>She then immediately leapt on the controls. Of course, everything was in some turian language. But she had a plan for this.</p><p>She searched around until she finally came upon the words for “language settings.” Learning this phrase in every language was all a person ever really needed to know in this day and age. With a triumphant grin, she selected it. Only to set off another damn alarm. And of course, with everything still stuck in turian, she had no idea how to shut it off.</p><p>Garrus emerged from the back with a tired smile. “Not even gone for two minutes, and you’re already into trouble.”</p><p>She glared at him. “How are you this paranoid? Rigging alarms everywhere? You some kind of coward?”</p><p>Garrus deactivated the alarm and fixed her with a smug look. “They stopped <em> you </em>, didn’t they?”</p><p>“Okay. Yeah, I guess you <em> would </em>need that. How else are you going to keep your captives and your hostages in line? I guess this makes you a fully-fledged asshole then, huh? You want some scary supervillain music to go along with it?!”</p><p>Garrus exhaled and brought a hand to his face. “Just try not to touch anything. You’ll only set off more alarms.”</p><p>After he left, she vaguely considered using her stolen omni-tool to control the ship. Garrus probably couldn’t monitor her while he was asleep, but then again, that visor he always had over his eye might. Who knows what kind of data that thing could pick up. Not to mention, omni-tools were highly traceable as it was, and the one she had was old. </p><p>Maybe she could steal his visor while he slept. A bit risky, but it could work. However, if that visor had any storage capacity… Who was she kidding? Garrus was into tech; of course it would have storage capabilities. The only recourse she had then was destroying the thing, but of course, doing that would only endanger her crew. And that was only <em> if </em> she managed to take it from him without waking him up. Hell, maybe even that damn thing was <em> also </em>rigged with an alarm. At this rate, it surely was. </p><p>She scowled and leaned back into her seat. She would have to wait. Hopefully, this mission of his would be simple enough. Find the traitor, kill him, and leave. </p><p>But what would happen after Garrus had his revenge? Would he return her to the Normandy? Would he demand more out of her? More from her crew? When would she confront him about Nihlus? </p><p>For now, following around Garrus was fairly convenient for her. It gave her a glimpse into who he was and how he operated. Of course, she still wasn’t finding any actual information on what had happened to Nihlus. Doing so would likely be next to impossible, even without all the stupid alarms setting off all the time. And she highly doubted she could just ask him outright. Doing that would just set his already-paranoid tendencies to an even higher level of alert. She’d have to think of something to get him to spill his secrets...</p><p>A dark thought crept into her mind. </p><p>What if Garrus attempted to kill her after this mission was over? After all, this was what the Council believed he was capable of. If he killed Nihlus once his apparent usefulness was over, what was to stop him from attacking her?</p><p>She shook her head wildly. No, Garrus was actually Archangel. </p><p>Archangel would never harm anyone who didn’t deserve it. </p><p>But if Archangel were to kill Nihlus, then Nihlus must have done something to deserve it. Or maybe the Council had the wrong man... </p><p>But would Archangel kidnap a random crew and force them to do his bidding? </p><p>No, never.</p><p>But here Garrus was, doing just that. </p><p>She bit her lip.</p><p>Was there more to Archangel than what she had uncovered of him over the back channels of Omega? Some hidden, dark side of him that the average observer hadn’t yet uncovered?</p><p>No, Archangel never harmed any civilians. In fact, he had saved many lives. She wasn’t a civilian, but she hadn’t done anything to provoke him. In fact, her death could result in many innocent lives lost, as she was in the same business as him, protecting and maintaining peace and stability. Killing her would be detrimental to Archangel’s stated goals: defending those who couldn’t defend themselves. But then again, wouldn’t killing Nihlus do the same?</p><p>Then he couldn’t have killed Nihlus for the hell of it. There had to have been a reason. </p><p>But then, what was the reason for terrorizing her crew? Holding them hostage?</p><p>She pondered the question for quite some time before his words suddenly flashed back into her mind. He had been betrayed by one of his own. He was haunted by it still; she could hear it in his voice.  </p><p>Could it be that the pain of Garrus’ betrayal was what was driving him to do this? Maybe Archangel normally wouldn’t kidnap a crew, but now that the knife stabbed into his back had pushed him into a new direction? A new path that he wouldn’t have ever even dreamed of following before? </p><p>Thoughts and possibilities abuzz in her brain, her body began to grow tense. There wasn’t much she could do now, other than ruminate. Maybe she should rest for a few minutes, while she had the chance. She headed to one of the larger seating areas along the wall and curled up on it to do just that.</p><p>When she re-opened her eyes, she wasn’t quite certain if she had fallen asleep. The stiffness in her legs seemed to think so, so she took a breath and stretched.  </p><p>She startled when she heard Garrus state her name by way of greeting. </p><p>“What’s wrong? You alright?”</p><p>“Y-Yeah,” she muttered. </p><p>Her heart was racing. It had been awhile since she had done something this reckless. Fallen asleep in the presence of an enemy. Thankfully, Garrus likely wouldn’t have wanted to kill her now, given that he had gone to so much trouble to take her along in the first place, but there were obviously other things he could have easily done to her while she was vulnerable. </p><p>But he was only sitting there near the console, tapping away at his omni-tool. He had even returned to it immediately after hearing her response. Judging by his brow, he appeared a bit frustrated, just like the last time he had been using it. </p><p>“Did you get enough sleep?” she asked. </p><p>“As much as I can get.” He looked up from his device. “You ready to head out?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Harkin and Sidonis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harkin leads the pair to their true target.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Again, this is not new content. I realized the chapters were a bit too long, so I split them into four parts instead of the original two. Let me know if anything's wonky. </p><p>By the way, Bailey's a woman now. There are too many human men in Mass Effect, so yeah.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’ll want to talk with Captain Bailey,” Garrus instructed. “If anyone knows anything about Fade, it’d be her.”</p><p>“Sure thing.” She looked up at him, only to behold the darkened visor of his helmet. “Why the helmet, anyway?”</p><p>“Suffice it to say, I might get recognized here.”</p><p>“Recognized as Archangel? Because you look exactly like him right now.”</p><p>“No. Actually, I may have lived and worked in the Citadel in the past.”</p><p>“Let me guess: you sold noodles at the ramen stand.”</p><p>“... Not quite.”</p><p>It didn’t take them long to find Bailey once they entered C-Sec headquarters. She was a middle-aged woman with clear blue eyes and a mess of blond hair atop her head. She looked up from her computer when Shepard approached her desk. “Commander Shepard. How can I help you?”</p><p>“Looking for a guy named Fade. You know anything?”</p><p>“I may know a thing or two...” she shook her head, weary at the mere mention of the name. “He’s been causing all sorts of trouble around here. But all I really know is that he works out of the warehouse near the markets in the Zakera Ward. I’d start there. Maybe you could poke around a bit and ask around. <em> Gently </em>, of course.”</p><p>Shepard cracked her knuckles. “You got it.”</p><p>Bailey’s eyes fell on Garrus. “I didn’t know you had a turian on your crew.”</p><p>“Yeah, he’s new.” Shepard looked over at him with a small, smug smile on her face. “Picked him up on some random asteroid. He’s pretty whiny, and his skull seems to be about as empty as it is thick; but at least he knows how to hold a gun. Sometimes he can even aim it too, <em> if </em>he’s lucky.”</p><p>She couldn’t see Garrus’ expression behind the helmet, but his hands had balled up into fists. </p><p>“Um…” Bailey was at a loss for words. “Well… I see. He probably just needs a bit of training. I’m sure if anyone can handle it, it’s you, Commander.” </p><p>“I’ll try.” She thanked her for the help and nodded to her before leaving. </p><p>“Real clever back there, Shepard,” Garrus snarked once they had moved out of earshot of C-Sec. “I’m practically dying of laughter over here.”</p><p>She sent him a smug grin. “You liked it? That was for my crew.”</p><p>“Let’s just get to the warehouse.”</p><p>The warehouse was just that, a large area filled with random shipments. The pair walked past a nearby courier arguing with a customer in favor of heading deeper inside. Eventually they reached the end of the line, only the last stacks of crates left in view. That, and some krogan. There were two of them, and they moved from their perches to stand menacingly before them. </p><p>A mechanical-sounding gasp echoed from behind several of the containers, and a volus entered the scene. </p><p>“Ah… good evening. So which of you,” he gasped, “would like to disappear?” </p><p>One of the krogan made a show of removing the safety off his shotgun.</p><p>“I’d rather you make someone reappear,” Garrus declared.</p><p>“That’s, ah… not something we provide,” he gasped yet again.</p><p>Garrus drew his assault rifle. “Make an exception.”</p><p>“Aagh!” The volus began losing his cool, gasping even more often than before. “What are you two just standing there for?! Shoot them; shoot them!”</p><p>The pair of krogan shared a bored expression. One of them waved his hand as if to dismiss the whole thing, and they both stalked off.</p><p>The volus sighed, smacking a palm to his face. “Why do I even bother?”</p><p>Garrus holstered his weapon and crouched before the volus. While standing, he was probably around three times the man’s height, so now he could more easily interact with him. “So you’re Fade?”</p><p>“I’m not,” the volus shook his head. “I just work for him. If you want to find him, he’s over in the third district, in the Shinra warehouses.”</p><p>“I know where that is; I can take us there.” Garrus looked back at Shepard and nodded. </p><p>“Good. Because I don’t.” She still sometimes felt rather lost navigating the Citadel. </p><p>The volus gasped, “Ooh, I’d be careful if I were you. He’s got a lot of mercs there. Blue Suns. Very angry and very dangerous. Pretty scary.”</p><p>“Good to know.” Garrus rose to leave.</p><p>“Uh…? Can I go now?”</p><p>He shrugged. “Sure. But if you’re lying, I’ll be back to settle things.”</p><p>“Oh… Good.” The volus padded away.</p><p>~1~</p><p>It wasn’t long after they stepped out of the vehicle Garrus rented that Shepard took notice of a certain balding man. He was standing there at the mouth of a warehouse, calling out orders to some Blue Suns mercenaries.</p><p>“Hey!” she exclaimed, pointing at him. “I know that guy!”</p><p>“Harkin?” Garrus squinted, uncertain if he was just imagining the familiar face.   </p><p>“He’s that C-Sec officer that was harassing me awhile back!” </p><p>Garrus deflated. “Sounds like Harkin all right…”</p><p>“And C-Sec didn’t do a damn thing, even after I reported him!”</p><p>“And <em> that </em>sounds just like C-Sec…” Even his mandibles had deflated now.</p><p>It was at this moment that Harkin took notice of them. “Shepard?” </p><p>He immediately fell into a panic. “Damn it! We’ve got a Spectre on our asses! Hurry! Stop them! Stop them!”</p><p>The mercs he had been yelling at whirled about and readied their weapons, while Harkin ran off. </p><p>“Run all you want, Harkin!” Garrus hollered. “But we’ll find you.”</p><p>He and Shepard immediately ducked behind some nearby crates. Figuring his identity was safe enough at this point, Garrus removed his helmet and collapsed it before tossing it in his bag. Much like Wrex and Liara, he hated wearing it, as it hindered his peripheral vision. Unfortunately, being Archangel had always required it, so in a way, it was not so bad, returning to simply being himself. </p><p>Once that was taken care of, the two of them exchanged glances before Garrus nodded to her. Just before leaving his ship and entering the Citadel, they had briefly talked strategy, in case a firefight ensued. And now they were about to put these plans to the test.</p><p>At his indication, Shepard readied her pistol and laid down cover fire. This provided Garrus the opportunity to move in closer. The crate he had dashed to was small, but apparently he was a lot better at curling himself up into a tiny space than Shepard had given him credit for. He would then pop in and out of cover often enough to harass the mercs with gunfire from his assault rifle. This gave Shepard the opportunity to snipe unwitting fools from afar. </p><p>“Perfect!” Garrus seemed to praise her after nearly every kill she made. </p><p>“<em>Scratched </em>one!” He was also apparently quite fond of celebrating his own kills too.</p><p>Once every mercenary near the entrance of the warehouse was defeated, Garrus left his cover to find her. “Shepard, that was fantastic!”</p><p>“Uh, thanks?” </p><p>“There’s likely more of them inside, but if we keep this up, we should be able to track down Harkin soon. I have a feeling he’ll lead us to Fade.”</p><p>She nodded and followed after him as he headed inside the warehouse. They hadn’t gone far before they reached a crossroads. One path led straight ahead while the other went to their right. Garrus paused at the end of the line, pressing himself against the wall. Shepard crouched beside a nearby crate. “Which way?”</p><p>He appeared to be fiddling with something on his eyepiece before scanning the area. “We’ll take the right. There’s no one straight ahead.”</p><p>She rose. </p><p>“Wait,” he cautioned her. “There’s a group of mercenaries just beyond the way. I’ll keep an eye out for an opening. Then you should see if you can’t swing around there and line up a shot. But wait until my signal.”</p><p>“Got it.” She readied herself to dash to cover in the direction he indicated. The second he dropped his fist, she took off, quickly but quietly racing to her destination. Once she reached it, she stayed out of sight, until she felt confident no one had noticed her. She then peeked out from her cover to discover about five mercenaries milling about. It’d be easy for her to take out at least one of them from here. She nodded and sent a thumbs up to Garrus.</p><p>He waited until their attentions were focused elsewhere before making his own dash to a cover point. He was ahead of her, but quite a ways to her left, meaning it’d be easy for him to avoid incurring any potential friendly fire from her. </p><p>She waited until Garrus gave her a signal to start. She lined up a shot for the farthest merc and took it, killing him instantly. This definitely got the attention of the others. But before they could assemble to stop her, Garrus popped out from cover, only to lay down heavy fire. This forced the mercs to scatter, but not before Shepard managed to take out another one. </p><p>Spooked senseless, the remaining mercs’ only option was to duck for cover. While they hid, Garrus advanced to flank them, and Shepard hurried off to change her position too.</p><p>Once one of the mercs had finally built up the confidence to peek out from cover, Shepard immediately killed him. The next one jumped out from cover to lay down heavy fire on where Garrus had earlier been positioned. The last one rose from cover to fire where Shepard had been moments prior. </p><p>But Shepard ended him from her new position easily enough, while Garrus circled behind the remaining mercenary. He knocked him in the back of the head with his rifle before firing on him at point blank range. And so ended their resistance. It was brutal, to be sure, but they both knew from experience that the Blue Suns were merciless, trained to kill without hesitation; there wasn’t any point in not returning the favor. </p><p>“Excellent work, Shepard,” Garrus nodded to her once she made her way over to him.</p><p>She nodded, “You think they’ll be more of them?”</p><p>“No doubt.” He looked ahead, and Shepard vaguely wondered, with some envy, how much that visor allowed him to see.</p><p>“We’ll need to be careful. Passage gets narrow up ahead.”  </p><p>At that point, the two of them advanced slowly, with Garrus taking the lead, while Shepard trailed a ways behind. It didn’t take long for them to encounter more mercenaries. They appeared to be patrolling near the end of the narrow hall the two of them were in, which meant the mercenaries had the advantage. The pair’s vision and range were limited by the narrow walls, while the mercs had free range of the entire room beyond. Aware of their plight, Garrus retreated to speak with her. </p><p>“How do you want to handle this?” she asked as he uncomfortably tucked himself right beside her in order to also fit behind the box she had hidden behind. </p><p>“Same as last time.” Garrus’ mandibles tended to move whenever he talked, and this time, one of them occasionally bumped into her helmet as he spoke. If she hadn’t been wearing that, it’d most likely be stuck in her hair right now. “Just watch your shields and stick to cover when you need to. I’ll move ahead, so wait for my signal.”</p><p>She nodded, and he took off. Once he was ready, she fired the first shot, immediately killing one of the mercs. This ensured a flurry of bullets down their hall. Once the sound of sailing bullets died down a bit, Garrus moved from his position to provide her with some cover fire. This gave Shepard the chance to snipe a merc who was a little too sure of himself. </p><p>Once his shields gave out, Garrus sank back down to hide. The hailstorm of bullets was so intense that Shepard also remained down. </p><p>At that moment, her worst nightmare came true. A grenade was lobbed down their hallway. It landed near Shepard’s feet. She frantically grabbed it and tossed it further down the hall. But of course, it exploded at the apex of its arc, knocking out her shields entirely, along with pelting her with flaming shrapnel. </p><p>“Shepard!” Garrus cried, alarmed.</p><p>“I’m fine!” Her armor had taken most of the impact, but she’d certainly have a few scrapes and bruises after this. Maybe a burn or two, too. She slathered the worst of it with medi-gel and retrieved her weapon. “Keep on them!”</p><p>He left cover to fire on their foes, nearly killing a mercenary before being forced back into cover. Another grenade was launched their way, this time landing near Garrus. He knew he wouldn’t be quick enough to grab it, so he scurried backwards, towards a cover point closer to Shepard. He managed to escape the blast before it went off, which was a good thing for him, since his shields still hadn't been restored from the gunfire he had taken earlier.</p><p>Shepard managed to shoot a man in the shoulder; she had meant to hit his chest, but the guy moved at the last moment. The shot was enough to send him to the ground howling in pain. The resulting gunfire was too heavy for her to brave peeking out again for another hit.</p><p>It wasn’t until Garrus’ shields returned before the two of them left cover in tandem and managed to maim two others. Now the subsequent cover fire wasn’t nearly as unrelenting as before. This emboldened Shepard to take down one more. Now they were really hurting, and this allowed Garrus the opportunity to advance. He had nearly reached the end of the passageway before Shepard popped out again to take down another foe. </p><p>From here, a steady stream of fire from Garrus’ rifle was enough to hold back the last mercs remaining. Once they were all on the ground, he left any cover altogether to advance into the next room and finish off those which were sprawled upon the ground. They still refused to back down, even knowing they didn’t stand a chance. Garrus now had the advantage, and he took it without hesitation. “All clear.”</p><p>Shepard sank against the crate she had been hiding behind and released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.</p><p>“You alright there, Shepard?” Garrus called out. “That hit wasn’t too bad, was it? You need more medi-gel?”</p><p>“I’m fine on medi-gel. Just need to apply a little more, and I’ll be ready to go again.”</p><p>He emerged from behind the nearest box and nodded to her. After she was finished, he offered her a hand. She didn’t take it. </p><p>“How many more are we looking at here? I didn’t think this place would be so well guarded.”</p><p>He scanned the area ahead with his visor. “Looks like it’s only Harkin left. But stay on your guard. He’ll surely have some kind of trap in store for us.”</p><p>And so they pressed onwards, following the way forward until they came upon another sharp bend. Shepard paused in her tracks, waiting for Garrus’ analysis. “It’s clear,” he nodded, leading the way.</p><p>Shortly after they rounded the bend, a particularly tall nearby shipping crate began to open. And just inside, Shepard could see the warm glow of newly activated mechas. Upon locking onto their quarry, the robots opened fire. Both Garrus and Shepard scrambled for cover.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, the crates ahead of them were all rather tall and neatly packed along the walls, meaning they couldn’t hide anywhere down this hall. So they frantically doubled back, both of them cowering against the wall beyond the bend. The way back didn’t have any place to hide behind either; they’d need to retreat further down this hall back into the room in which they had subdued that last pack of mercenaries. “Fall back!”</p><p>He didn’t need to tell her twice. The two of them ran for their lives; their shields giving out once they were only about halfway down the hallway. They zigzagged erratically in an attempt to avoid bullets, but the two of them had both ended up sustaining several injuries before they finally found some cover. They didn’t waste any time in treating the worst of them with medi-gel before seizing their weapons to fight back. </p><p>Instead of alternating like before, they left cover together and both laid down heavy fire, Shepard relying on her pistol and Garrus, his assault rifle. This hindered several of the mechs, but none of them had even fallen down to the ground before the pair were forced to duck down for relief. “You hanging in there, Shepard?”</p><p>“As well as I can.” She really needed to apply more medi-gel. Even the adrenaline wasn’t enough to dull all her pain. But there wasn’t time for that now. A stream of blood from a wound in her brow was starting to seep towards her eye. But again, she didn’t have the time to remove her helmet to fix it. “We need to finish this quickly.”   </p><p>“On it!” he nodded to her, and they rose from cover again; this time, however, Shepard was stunned by how quickly their foes had advanced. Three of the mechs fell to the ground from their combined gunfire, but two remained on their feet. But Shepard and Garrus hadn’t a choice; once their shields gave out, they had to hide once again. They had taken too many hits already to risk more.</p><p>“We can’t hide here for much longer!” Shepard cried, and sure enough, when she looked up, a mecha face loomed over her. She yelped and unloaded her pistol on it; the flurry of bullets decimated the mech’s face, and its body fell on her. </p><p>Meanwhile, the other mech had chosen to flank them from the left. Garrus had no choice but to face it head on, preferring to unleash bullets on it instead of fight, since he knew full well how superior artificial strength was to his own. Plus, he had too many wounds to risk straining himself with a physical altercation. Some of his shots ricocheted, as he figured, but it was still better than the alternatives. Eventually, the mech went down without too many added injuries on his part. He only hoped none of the bullets had hit Shepard too. </p><p>He looked back at her, only to find her on the ground being choked by a headless mech. She was kicking and struggling as best she could, but the robot obviously didn’t feel any pain and only continued its assault on her airways. He rushed over and beat each of the robot’s shoulders with his rifle until its arms broke off. Then he kicked it aside and shot it dead. Or rather, deactivated it with bullets. “You okay?”</p><p>She was gasping for breath. “Yeah...”</p><p>While she recovered, he pressed ahead to find the remaining bots still crawling pathetically towards them. It didn’t take much to end them. </p><p>Garrus wanted to collapse from relief then and there, but he knew he still had work to do. For now, he sat down to treat his injuries as best as he could. Once he finished, he looked to Shepard, who was already finished treating her own wounds. “You get hit in the back too?”</p><p>She nodded, “I’ll heal you if you heal me.”   </p><p>He agreed and motioned for her to move closer, since she was already on her feet. She momentarily hesitated but did so without a word. </p><p>He looked over her injuries and quirked a brow plate. “Huh. A smaller target, I guess…”</p><p>“Huh?” She whirled around and gave him a sour look, one that even he could see through the helmet partially obscuring her face. “You say something?”</p><p>“Nothing at all. Just… talking to myself.”</p><p>She felt a little suspicious by how carefully he was treating her. Even Liara, the scientist who wasn’t accustomed to enduring arduous battles, wasn’t this delicate with her. When his hand lightly brushed against her spine, she very nearly shivered. She immediately pulled away from him to better hide that reaction. “You can move a bit faster, you know. I’m not going to break or anything.”</p><p>“Right. I just didn’t want to… you know…”</p><p>“To what?” she asked, impatient.</p><p>He held out his hand. “Talons. They can hurt.”</p><p>“You’re wearing reinforced <em> gloves </em>, you dumbass!”</p><p>“Right. I just didn’t want to alarm you or anything like that.” He vigorously rubbed the medi-gel over the rest of her wounds, having now learned that careful treatment was obviously not appreciated.</p><p>“I’m a grown ass adult, you know; you don’t need to treat me like some delicate flower!”</p><p>“Like a... plant?” he repeated, genuinely confused. “Why would I--? Uh… wait. I mean, it’s actually because you’re human; and humans don’t have talons, so they wouldn’t be accustomed to--”</p><p>She hissed, “It doesn’t matter! Just move so I can heal you.”</p><p>He awkwardly shuffled around so that his back was facing her. </p><p>She nearly gasped at the sight. His wounds were extensive and bleeding profusely. </p><p>“Damn it, Garrus! Why didn’t you say anything?”</p><p>“I bet it looks worse than it is.”</p><p>She let out a puff of air. “Don’t try to act tough; it’ll only piss me off, or worse, get you killed.” </p><p>She quickly set to work. “You’re worse than Wrex…”</p><p>“If I remember right, you humans have a saying: ‘the captain goes down with their ship.’ I’m leading this operation. It stands to reason that I should get treated last.”</p><p>“That’s not how medical code works,” she insisted. “Whoever has the worst injuries gets treated first. <em> That’s </em>how people stay alive.”</p><p>“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”</p><p>“Don’t ‘try.’ <em> Keep </em> it in mind.”</p><p>After they had recovered, the two retraced their steps. Once they reached the now empty crate that had originally housed the mechs, Shepard turned to Garrus. “Any more of them?”</p><p>“Yes, actually… There are several more of them in those crates lining the walls.” He finished scanning the area with his visor before activating his omni-tool. “They’re dormant now. Looks like they’re set to activate whenever someone triggers nearby motion sensors. If I could just get those offline, these mechs won’t be able to activate.”</p><p>“The motion sensors. Where are they?”</p><p>“Near the ceiling,” Garrus indicated one with a tilt of his head. </p><p>Shepard pulled out her sniper rifle and shot it, obliterating it.</p><p>“Or… that works too.”</p><p>She nodded to him as he pulled out his own rifle. Together they made short work of the sensors, finally allowing them free rein of the hallway. This passage led to a small office space with a large window. It overlooked an expansive area filled with crates and boxes of nearly every shape and size. Beyond that area was another small room, similar in size to the office just before them. </p><p>Shepard snooped around the office, but there wasn’t anything of interest here, other than some credits tucked away in a desk drawer. Meanwhile Garrus was scanning over the area ahead. “Looks like Harkin’s hiding out in that room up ahead.”</p><p>“Do you think he has more surprises for us?”</p><p>“Without a doubt.” He continued to look over the area, fiddling with his eyepiece now and again. “But I don’t see anything.”</p><p>“Probably more motion sensors.”</p><p>“Most likely.”</p><p>“You think Harkin’s Fade?”</p><p>Garrus continued to gaze ahead of them and smiled, but it looked downright sinister. “Only one way to find out.”</p><p>“You’re not going to torture him.”</p><p>He looked at her. “Harkin’s a coward. He’ll talk long before I can actually hurt him.”</p><p>She met his gaze. “So long as there’s no torture.”</p><p>He broke eye contact, frustrated with her. “He’s an ass. Who cares what happens to him?”</p><p>“I don’t.” Her voice was firm. “But I won’t stand for torture. Not now, not ever.”</p><p>“I’m here to get what I came for.” He narrowed his eyes. “And you better not stand in my way; the lives of your crew depends on it.”</p><p>“I can’t knock you unconscious,” she recalled. “But I sure as hell can make your life miserable.”</p><p>He shook his head and readied his weapon. “Enough. We’ve got work to do.”</p><p>The two of them crept along the shipments. As per Garrus’ recommendation, Shepard took the high ground, ascending by climbing over whatever crates were sturdy enough to hold her weight. Garrus, being heavier, stuck to the low ground. He was probably a bit more vulnerable down there, but her vantage point made it easy for Shepard to keep an eye on him, sniper rifle at the ready. </p><p>She didn’t need to wait long. A conveyor line affixed to the ceiling began to send in more robots their way. From her superior vantage point, it was a fairly easy task for Shepard to take them out with minimal resistance. With her help, Garrus fared well against them. The two of them had nearly cleared the area when the conveyor line sent them one last surprise. A giant mech.</p><p>Shepard managed to snipe it twice before it fell to the ground, ready to attack in full force. Garrus immediately ducked for cover as it sent machine gun fire his way. Since it was still focused on Garrus, Shepard managed to snipe it yet again, nearly destroying its shields. Finally noticing her, the mech next launched a missile her way. She panicked and hurriedly found cover. The crates she hid behind rattled immensely from the hit. In the meantime, Garrus popped out and unleashed assault rifle fire. This was finally enough to destroy the remaining shields. Now they could actually damage the giant.</p><p>Feeling emboldened, Garrus continued his barrage, focusing on the machine gun within the mech’s right arm. Shepard peeked out, only to discover another missile headed her way. This blast destroyed the crate she was crouched behind. Frantic, she scrambled to find another place to hide, while yet another missile headed her way. </p><p>Unable to find a suitable place in time, Shepard jumped down to a lower area, just in time for the missile to fly over her. She landed hard, having to roll to keep herself from getting injured. Unfortunately, this roll very nearly had her tumbling down to an even lower area. Thankfully, she managed a grip sturdy enough to heave herself back up. </p><p>She shook her head to gather her bearings. Unfortunately, there were too many crates gathered around her for her to have any hope of getting the mech back in her sights. </p><p>“Shepard!” Garrus yelled, trapped behind cover while the mech advanced, machine gun fire very nearly blasting away the crates which separated them. “Could use a hand!”</p><p>Shepard leapt down from the remaining crates until she reached the ground. From there, she rushed ahead to flank the mech from her side. The moment she could get a clear shot of the mech’s machine gun, she took it, finally destroying it. The mech turned to face her, preparing to launch another missile her way. She bolted back for the crates, hoping beyond hope she could make it there before the missile let loose.</p><p>Meanwhile Garrus leapt up from cover, firing on the missile chamber next. His attack, along with the damage incurred from the broken machine gun, managed to puncture it, causing the missiles inside to spontaneously combust. </p><p>The mech exploded in a fiery blaze. </p><p>Thankfully the two of them had managed to find a place to hide before the resulting shrapnel could hit them. </p><p>Once the coast was clear, Garrus rushed ahead. “Shepard? Where are you?”</p><p>“Over here.” She headed over to him. “You hurt?”</p><p>“No. You?”</p><p>“Just fine.”</p><p>The pair looked up at the final area before them. </p><p>“Now for Harkin.” Shepard looked to Garrus for his thoughts. </p><p>He merely nodded to her, so she started on ahead, readying her pistol to apprehend their target. He followed from behind, only to branch off from her and move in to flank.</p><p>Shepard kicked the door of the office space open, her pistol trained inside the room. Harkin was there, tapping away at a computer. </p><p>“Don’t move!” she warned him, aiming for his face.</p><p>“Sorry, sweetheart,” he smirked and made to run off. “You’re too late!”</p><p>But he only succeeded in running into the butt of Garrus’ rifle. Garrus grabbed the stunned man by the shoulder before slamming him into the wall, pinning him there by his neck. He did all of this with the ease of a man annoyed with something boring him. “It’s over, Harkin. Or should I say ‘Fade?’”</p><p>“Garrus!” Harkin smiled weakly, his voice oozing with fake surprise. </p><p>A bruise was already beginning to form on his face from the blow with the rifle butt he had taken. “What do you need? Let me help you.”</p><p>Garrus released him and moved away, his back to Harkin. “I need you to find someone.”</p><p>Harkin smirked, dusting himself off, “Sounds like we <em> both </em> have something the other needs…”</p><p>Garrus whirled around, charging Harkin and kneeing him straight in the gut. Harkin immediately doubled over. </p><p>“That’s <em> not </em>how this is going to work.”</p><p>Shepard watched with mixed feelings. On the one hand, a part of her enjoyed watching this smug, sexist asshole get the shit beat out of him. On the other, she knew that if Garrus went too far, Harkin could die. Harkin was, after all, completely unarmed and therefore, defenseless. </p><p>Right now, at least, she didn’t want to confront Garrus over any of this, as he already seemed especially wound up. So far, it seemed like a solid beating was going to be enough to get Harkin to talk. She only hoped things wouldn’t escalate too far beyond that. </p><p>Harkin took a minute to recover before finally looking up to face Garrus. “Who... are we looking at here?”</p><p>“I’m looking for Sidonis.”</p><p>Harkin hesitated. </p><p>Garrus continued, “He’s turian. Comes from--”</p><p>“I know who he is.” Harkin waved him off. </p><p>“But I can’t tell you anything,” he smirked. “It’s bad for business.” </p><p>Garrus glared at him. Then he swiftly kicked him in the balls. Harkin immediately crumpled to the floor, too winded to even cry out from the pain.</p><p>“You know what else is ‘bad for business?’” Garrus stepped on his throat. “A broken neck!”</p><p>“Hey! Watch it!” Shepard warned. </p><p>Once Harkin began choking out ragged gasps, she knew he couldn’t really breathe anymore. </p><p>“Hey!” She reached out to grab Garrus’ forearm, and he finally removed his foot. </p><p>Harkin slowly rose from the floor, gasping for breath.</p><p>Garrus jerked his head towards the nearby computer. “Now arrange a meeting.”</p><p>He staggered to his feet. “Not like I have any choice…”</p><p>While Harkin stumbled over to the computer to open up a channel, Garrus pointedly looked over his rifle.</p><p>Realization dawned on her. </p><p>“You’re <em> not </em>going to kill him,” Shepard whispered.</p><p>He lazily looked over at her. “Harkin’s a criminal now.”</p><p>“And that’s punishable by <em> death </em>?” Shepard quickly shook her head. “He doesn’t even have a weapon. He can’t defend himself.”</p><p>Harkin returned before Garrus could answer her. “He said he’ll meet you over in the central plaza three blocks from here. Twenty minutes.”</p><p>“He’d better.” Garrus made a show of removing the safety from his rifle.</p><p>Harkin gave Shepard a sleazy smile. “Yeah. I hope we can do business again.” </p><p>She wanted to retch but decided to ignore him instead.</p><p>He began to meander towards her. “Especially wouldn’t mind working with <em> you </em>ag---”</p><p>Garrus’ arm shot out to stop him. “I don’t think so.”</p><p>Harkin tried to pull away, but Garrus’ grip held. “You saying I can’t leave?”</p><p>“You’re a criminal now, Harkin.” Garrus’ steely gaze bore into Harkin’s own.</p><p>Shepard warily watched them, uncertain of what might happen next. </p><p>Harkin finally let out a quiet, rueful laugh. “So what? You just going to kill me? That ain’t your style, Garrus.”</p><p>Garrus didn’t respond right away, merely continued to glare at him. Finally, he shoved him backwards. “Kill you? No…” </p><p>He pulled out his rifle and aimed for Harkin’s knees. “But I don’t mind slowing you down a little.”</p><p>Shepard had had enough. </p><p>She moved to shove the rifle aside with both hands, throwing as much of her body weight into the motion as she could so that she could knock the rifle right out of his hands. However, Garrus seemed to anticipate her reaction just enough to block her with his forearm. But the force of her shove was enough to ruin his aim, forcing him to jerk the gun skywards to avoid accidentally killing somebody. His finger had just barely grazed the trigger, causing a couple bullets to strike the ceiling.  </p><p>Afraid he might still try to shoot Harkin, Shepard gripped his forearm with both hands. “You can’t do this.”</p><p>He moved his arm as if to shake her off. When she didn’t release him, he shook harder and then increasingly more roughly until she finally let go, afraid of getting whiplash. He regarded her a moment before turning to Harkin. “I guess it’s your lucky day.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Harkin gave Shepard another sleazy smile, before nodding at Garrus. “I’m glad we could do business.”</p><p>Shepard waved him off with an annoyed hiss before turning to leave.</p><p>Seeing that Shepard had turned away, Garrus marched forward and slammed his head into Harkin’s own, knocking the man back down to the ground. </p><p>He turned back to her, shrugging lightly. “What? I didn’t shoot him.”</p><p>“We need to get out of here,” she reminded him. “We only got twenty minutes, remember?”</p><p>“I remember.” </p><p>They made to leave while Garrus slung his weapon onto his back. “Sidonis better be there, or I’m coming back to finish the job.”</p><p>~2~</p><p>It took Garrus about twenty minutes to drive out to the plaza Harkin had mentioned. The ride there had been quiet, which Shepard was grateful for, since she didn’t have a good feeling about what was going to happen next. </p><p>They were just going to kill a traitor, right? Admittedly, it’d be tricky to do that in the middle of the district, in broad daylight (as is always the case on the Citadel), but… well, technically Garrus was supposed to be the one coming up with the plans, after all. And actually, with her being a Spectre, it wasn’t like <em> she </em>would get arrested for this. Garrus, on the other hand? Not so much. </p><p>But then again, the Council was already after him for Nihlus, so what did he really have to lose?</p><p>Garrus landed the vehicle smoothly. She could tell by the gentle and infrequent twitching of his mandibles that he was in a sullen mood. </p><p>She hated turian vehicles. They were built for people far taller than her, so she looked and felt so small sitting in them. Maybe it was strange to think, but it made her doubt herself. It was like all of her experience had vanished, and she was back to being a small and powerless young girl once again. She angrily folded her arms, mad at herself for thinking of this <em> and </em>at Garrus too.</p><p>“Harkin’s a criminal. He deserved to be punished.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? And who the hell do you think you are anyway?” she scoffed at him. “C-Sec? The hand of fate? Judge, jury, <em> and </em> executioner? Why do <em> you </em>get to decide who gets punished and who doesn’t?”</p><p>He rounded on her. “You don’t think he deserved it?”</p><p>She refused to look at him. “Maybe he did; maybe he didn’t. But if torture becomes okay for this guy, then when does it <em> not </em>become okay?”</p><p>He huffed in irritation, but she pressed on.</p><p>“For me, it’s <em> never </em> okay. I’ll admit, when people want to kill me, I kill <em> them </em> first. But if they aren’t? Then I leave them the hell alone. The minute you start torturing people, it doesn’t matter <em> what </em> the reason is, then <em> you </em> become a monster too. And then when does the cycle of shitty behavior ever stop? What makes <em> your </em> asshole actions more justifiable than his?”</p><p>Garrus heavily leaned back in his seat, his face to the ceiling. “What do you want from me, Shepard?”</p><p>“Honestly?” She gave him a sideways glance. “I want you to calm the hell down.”</p><p>“Calm down?” He let out a laugh, short and mirthless. “No, this isn’t that simple.”</p><p>“Why are you so insistent on punishing people?” Shepard insisted, searching his face for answers. “Sure, Harkin’s an ass. But what’s he going to do now? His mechs are destroyed, and his mercs are dead. What’s he gonna do? Bitch at us to death?”</p><p>“You think this is a joke?!” he snapped.</p><p>“Yeah, I <em> do </em>think Harkin is a fucking joke. C-Sec’ll catch him soon enough, now that he doesn’t have any buddies to back him up.”</p><p>He growled but didn’t respond.</p><p>“So then,” she turned to him, watching him closely, “it’s C-Sec’s job to enforce the law, so why do <em> you </em>feel the need to even get involved with him?” </p><p>He shook his head, “This is how I’ve always been. I never could stand the fact that people could do terrible things, and then go on to get away with it?” </p><p>He shook his head again, more emphatically this time, and nearly broke out in ironic laughter once again. “It just isn’t fair. Why should ten good people lie in unmarked graves, while this one asshole gets to walk away free?” </p><p>The hand he had rested on the dashboard clenched into a fist before returning to his side. “I’m the only one who can make this right. I’m the only one who cares. I’m sorry, Shepard, but words aren’t going to solve this.”</p><p>Shepard didn’t answer right away. “You’re going to kill him cleanly? No suffering?”</p><p>“It’s more than he deserves, but yes. I know I have to do this. I have to end things now.”</p><p>“How will we handle this?”</p><p>“I need to set up.” Garrus scanned the area carefully before pointing to a balcony on the building before the plaza. “Over there. I’ll take him out, after you draw him out and hold his attention.”</p><p>“Okay,” Shepard frowned. “Just don’t shoot me.”</p><p>“Of course not.” Garrus reached into his bag and handed her an earpiece. “Here. Don’t worry. It’s sterilized.”</p><p>“Probably not as nice as my old one, but it’ll do.” </p><p>After he left, she waited for a minute or two before exiting the vehicle herself. She slowly entered the plaza before she heard Garrus over the radio. <em> Can you hear me? </em></p><p>“Loud and clear.”</p><p>
  <em> There he is. He’s the turian on the bench just ahead. Blue civilian clothes with red and yellow accents. Pale gray complexion. Purple tattoos. </em>
</p><p>She was grateful Garrus was quite descriptive, as there were actually a small handful of turians seated around the area. “Alright. I see him now.”</p><p>
  <em> Wave him over.  </em>
</p><p>She gazed at the turian until she caught his eye. She raised a hand to beckon him over. </p><p>He nodded to her before walking up to her. “I’m glad you’re here. I was getting worried.”</p><p>“Yeah, no worries. <em> I’m </em> here now.” She placed both fists on her hips in a solid display of her strength.</p><p>
  <em> Shepard, I can’t get a clear shot. You’re in the way.  </em>
</p><p>“Gotcha.” Shepard awkwardly sidled to the right.</p><p>Sidonis mirrored her, also sliding to her right. “Harkin was saying I’ve been compromised. But he said you’ll protect me, right?”</p><p>
  <em> You’re still in the way. I can’t get a shot on him. </em>
</p><p>How was even this happening? Shepard’s heart began to beat faster. </p><p>Sidonis was shorter than the average turian, but that meant he was still quite a bit taller than her. But he was cowering, his posture atrocious as he huddled in close to her. </p><p>Well, the guy did just say something about Harkin assuring him she was going to protect him or whatever, so it all sort of made sense in a twisted kind of way. He was afraid of getting caught, so he was cowering in close to her for comfort. </p><p>“Don’t shoot me, Garrus.”</p><p><em> I won’t, </em> he affirmed. <em> Just talk to him. Get him to calm down.  </em></p><p>Shepard, still a bit fearful for her life, blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Yo! What’s up, fuckmother?”</p><p>Sidonis’ head tilted to the side, and he blinked. “Uh… excuse me?”</p><p>“How’s shit?” she continued, a pained grin plastered on her face.</p><p>
  <em> Damn it, Shepard!  </em>
</p><p>“Shit’s, um… shit’s pretty bad, I think,” Sidonis answered, nodding a bit frantically. “But you’re here now, and you’ll watch out for me, right?”</p><p>Shepard grimaced, reaching to rub the back of her neck. She was too stressed to think up anything natural to say, and this was going nowhere. </p><p>So she snapped to attention, staring Sidonis right in the eye. “Listen here. I know who you are, and I know what you’ve done.”</p><p>“Uh… what?” His mandibles started moving back and forth. “What are you--?”</p><p>“Sidonis,” she interrupted, her tone warning him.</p><p>“Listen; don’t <em> ever </em> say that name aloud,” he snapped, looking about wildly to see if anyone had heard.</p><p>“No, <em> you </em> shut up; <em> I’m </em>the one talking here!” </p><p>Her military instincts kicking in, she reached out to grab his collar to force him to listen, but he hurriedly backed up and wildly waved his hands around to keep her away.</p><p>“Get away from me!” he cried, terrified. </p><p>“Just… <em>listen </em>to me!” She stomped a foot, frustrated. “How could you do that?! How could you betray your team? They had your back, and you let them all die!”</p><p>He continued to cower, but now he was holding up his hands to shield himself from her. “You think I <em> wanted </em>to betray them? I-I didn’t have a choice! They had gotten to me; said I had to help them, or they were going to kill me! What was I supposed to do?”</p><p>
  <em> He’s a damn coward, Shepard! Get out of the way, and let me shoot him! </em>
</p><p>She was too furious to respond. </p><p>“I’ll tell you what you were supposed to do!” she seethed, pointing directly into Sidonis’ face. “You <em> die </em> for your team! They <em> trusted </em> you! You <em> never </em>turn your back on your team!”</p><p>“You think I don’t know that?” he cried, mandibles flaring. </p><p>“If you knew, then why did you do it? Why did you tip them off? Why didn’t you do <em> anything </em> to save them?!” </p><p>“Because I was afraid!” he exclaimed, his voice heavy with emotion.</p><p>Shepard froze. The humanity of it all punched her straight in the gut. </p><p>A sucker punch.</p><p>Was it… was it right to kill a man just for being afraid? </p><p>“I wanted to protect them, but I… I couldn’t do it. I was too scared. I was… I’m <em> still </em>afraid of dying. I just couldn’t--I couldn’t--!” He was choking on his own words. </p><p>
  <em> Shepard, move! Let me take the shot! </em>
</p><p>She couldn’t move. “Garrus…”</p><p>“Garrus?” Sidonis repeated, blinking rapidly. “Wait. Do you… you know Garrus?”</p><p>She nodded slowly. </p><p>“Can you…” Sidonis gazed at her, but his eyes seemed to be looking beyond her. “Could you tell him that there’s nothing I can do… Nothing I can say to ever make it right.”</p><p><em> Just… </em> Garrus paused. And when he finally spoke again, his voice was quavering. <em> Just tell him to go. Tell him to leave. </em></p><p>Shepard’s throat, which had been clenching up due to well, everything, finally relaxed. “He’s giving you a second chance. Don’t waste it.”</p><p>Sidonis’ brow plates furrowed slightly as he gazed at her, trying to decipher her meaning. His gaze shifted beyond her, as he pondered over her words. And it was then that he noticed, just there on the balcony beyond stood his former friend, his ally, Garrus himself.</p><p>Sidonis immediately choked out an awkward squawk and startled, nearly tripping over his own two feet. “G-Garrus?!”</p><p>“He’s giving you a second chance,” Shepard repeated. “Don’t waste it.”</p><p>He relaxed slightly, but his clenched fists were still pressed close to his body as he gulped.</p><p>“Thank you…” he nodded slowly, “for talking to him.”</p><p>“I didn’t,” she pointed out. “You did.”</p><p>He nodded to her before warily regarding Garrus. Sidonis slowly backed away before realizing that he was indeed safe and could leave in peace. </p><p>Satisfied that the threat had passed, Shepard left as well. She didn’t turn back, but she didn’t need to. </p><p>Sidonis was free now, able to live as he wished. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Desperation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With the job complete, Shepard must act now, before Garrus has the opportunity to slip away.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is new content! Hopefully now having smaller chapters is easier to manage.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I know you want to talk about this, but I don’t.” Garrus was sullen again as he approached their rented vehicle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t have to,” she agreed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked away from her, that telltale twitch in his mandibles revealing his mood. So he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to talk about it? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” she shrugged, trying to be casual, “for what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The right thing…” His posture sank and his head even lolled slightly to the side, as if to demonstrate that he couldn’t even trust himself enough to hold himself upright anymore. “Doubtful. The ‘right thing’ normally doesn’t involve forcibly dragging people along on a wild goose chase.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Damn. That was some artful translation. Those devices really impressed her sometimes. Or maybe turians just had a similar expression. Yeah, probably that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of responding, she went into the vehicle and kicked her feet up on the dashboard while she waited for him to follow. He got in after her but didn’t make any move to take the controls. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Next time, you could, you know, try asking for help </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>resorting to taking hostages,” she remarked. “You might be surprised by the answer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t risk that.” He looked away from her, gazing out the side window instead. “You were an unknown factor, and I wasn’t going to take any chances.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to face her. “You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>an unknown.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that so?” She sent him a cheeky smirk before curling her legs back down where they belonged. “Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>a Spectre, after all. My work is classified.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He made a point of gazing across the dashboard before turning back to her. “I seem to remember you were on the hunt for a certain mercenary group. And you wanted my help in taking them down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? You remember that, huh?” She made a show of looking over at him with a breezy smile on her face. But her hand cautiously rested on the pistol at her hip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t exactly invent a merc group to chase after. Not when all the major players had already attacked them all at once back on his base. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, we already took care of them back on Omega. They were the guys with the giant mech.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that so?” He was staring at her now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s right.” She slowly shifted her left shoulder forward, so that she could be certain that her right arm was hidden from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her smile faded, and she gave him a pointed look. “Is that a problem?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at all.” He turned away from her and started the vehicle. “It actually makes my life easier. Seems I’ve held up my end of the bargain without even realizing it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what’s next?” Shepard purposefully kept her tone light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll head back to my base on Omega. I’ll return your omni-tool and send you on your way. Once I receive word that you’re safely back aboard your ship, I’ll release your crew.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She finally relaxed in her seat. “Sounds like a plan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once they returned to his ship, Garrus charted a course for Omega. Immediately afterwards, he practically buried himself in his omni-tool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard watched him carefully for a moment before speaking. “Aren’t you tired?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at all.” He didn’t even bother looking up from his device.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned. “So how do I know you’re actually going to release my crew?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up for a moment. “You don’t. I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a puff of air, unimpressed. “Wow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged before returning to his device.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard narrowed her eyes. This was now the third time he had jumped on his omni-tool. But without one of her own, she wouldn’t be able to see what exactly he was up to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, she had one hidden away in her bag, but she couldn’t exactly use it while he was in plain sight. “You got a restroom on this thing?”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Again, he didn’t bother looking up. “Door next to the airlock.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rose and headed for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s no need to take your weapons in there.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that said, he looked up and regarded her pointedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Forgot I had them,” she shrugged lightly before stopping to remove them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s already a pretty tight fit in there as it is. No need to add a sniper rifle to the mix. Although… I suppose with someone as small as you are, I bet it wouldn’t make much of a difference.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flipped him the bird while she made her way over to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lacking a middle finger to properly mock her with, he smirked and held up his second finger instead, in an effort to show off his “most useless finger”.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What a dork.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She locked herself inside the bathroom, sat upon the closed toilet seat, and weighed her options. Should she risk using her omni-tool now? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had two objectives. One, contact her ship. And two, find out what Garrus was up to. The omni-tool she had was old, meaning that Garrus could easily discover her activity and then would obviously confront her on it. She was locked in here for now, but he could no doubt hack the door open easily enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was there enough time for her to complete both objectives before he got to her? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only one way to find out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her hands were shaking slightly with trepidation as she inserted the omni-tool into the port on her arm. She took a deep breath before activating it, and then she set to work, molding it to her will so that she could contact her crew. She chose only to send them her coordinates (in English, of course), knowing full well there wasn’t time for anything else. Joker knew the language, but she had a feeling Garrus wouldn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She then tried to track Garrus’ activity. However, his omni-tool was now deactivated. She’d have to remotely activate it. Or perhaps it wasn’t actually deactivated, and the appearance of it was only in place to fool would-be hackers. Knowing that he needed to use his omni-tool to hack into this room, she had the distinct feeling it was the latter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Garrus was yelling something at her, his words muffled by the reinforced walls and door. And since it was muffled, the translator couldn’t pick anything up. So now it sounded like a very large and very angry eagle was screeching at her. And yeah, that certainly wasn’t intimidating or anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was also pounding on the door (or actually, judging by the angle, kicking at it), which was actually quite pointless. The walls and door were simply too sturdy to even bother with trying to break them down. Only Wrex would have the strength to even attempt to do something like that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So why wasn’t he simply hacking the door? Or maybe he was, but she just couldn’t tell. Probably just trying to intimidate her. It didn’t really matter though. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was almost there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the door snapped open, revealing Garrus with his assault rifle in his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you get that?” he demanded to know, indicating the omni-tool with a jab of his elbow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you know… places…” She smiled weakly, trying to stall for more time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hand it over,” he said simply, clearly not interested in any games. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her second, and last, objective still wasn’t complete. She just needed a little more time for her tool to finish the tasks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Time she didn’t have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Entirely desperate now, Shepard dove for his legs, sending them both to the floor. After taking a split second to recover, she hurriedly scrambled for her pistol. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he caught her forearm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of pulling away or struggling, like he undoubtedly expected her to, she moved to slam her shoulder into him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But his armor took the impact. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since she was close, Garrus quickly wrapped his free arm around her, trapping her in place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She thrashed and kicked at him, but her blows meant nothing against his armor. She’d have to hit his unhelmeted head, but she wasn’t in the position to do that now, being trapped in his hold. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She could maybe grab a mandible. Pulling on that would probably hurt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She squirmed enough to free the hand that wasn’t still caught in his grip and tried reaching for the closest mandible. But he seemed to anticipate that and awkwardly leaned his face back and away from her outstretched hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seeing an opening, she tried to shove him back and away from her, so that she could get the proper leverage she needed to punch him in the face. But he went along with the movement, using it as an opportunity to shift the arm wrapped around her to instead grip the upper arm of her free hand. From there, it was easy enough for him to slide his grip down to catch hold of both of her wrists. She continued to kick wildly, hoping that a stray hit might knock him in the balls or something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seizing on his advantage, Garrus kept a firm hold on her wrists and moved to position himself atop her. Once he straddled her, she couldn’t kick him anymore. And with her arms trapped in his hands, she couldn’t do much of anything else either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough of this!” He was a bit winded from trying to tame her constant thrashing, but he wasn’t tired yet. “Now tell me how to remove the omni-tool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eat shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tell me </span>
  </em>
  <span>how to remove the omni-tool, or I’ll cut it out of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stubbornly turned her face away from him. “Then do it, you barbaric ass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bristled before gripping both her wrists in one hand and using the other to attempt to remove the armor protecting her arm. After several minutes of fiddling around with it, it became clear he didn’t actually know how to get it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard wasn’t even bothering to struggle anymore. She laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He growled in frustration before pulling off his gauntlet and gloves with his teeth. He tried scratching at the armor with his talons, but it was simply too sturdy for him to tear. Even at its weakest points, like inside the elbow and under the shoulder, her undersuit was still too durable for him to rip apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She burst out laughing again. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” Garrus snarled. “Since you refuse to cooperate, we’ll just have to wait right here until we reach Omega. I sure hope you’re comfortable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you so scared of anyway?” Shepard jeered at him. “The mission’s over. You got your closure. All that’s left is to take me back to my ship. What does it matter if I have an omni-tool?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t answer right away. “You were trying to hack my systems. I can’t allow that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just trying to see what you’re up to.” She lazily gazed at her arm, where the omni-tool was now displaying the results of her last task along with a brief response from the Normandy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hot damn. That omni-tool was old, but it sure did have one hell of a hacking software suite. After moving past the fake deactivation trick, it looked like it didn’t have any trouble at all in tracking Garrus’ activities.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It revealed to her that he had been trying to hack into her original omni-tool, the one still waiting for her back on Omega. Unsuccessfully, of course. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ha. She knew he’d never be able to break past Tali’s defenses. Although whoever had owned this omni-tool might have been able to give her a run for her money... Considering how old this thing was, she could only imagine how effective it would have been if the owner had had access to cutting edge tech. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What a hypocrite,” she scoffed. “It’s some terrible thing if </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>hack into</span>
  <em>
    <span> your</span>
  </em>
  <span> systems, but here you are, trying to hack into mine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have my reasons,” he insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care. Now get off me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not until you tell me how to remove that omni-tool.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let go of me, and I’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>give </span>
  </em>
  <span>you the stupid omni-tool. I’ve already got everything I want.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He regarded her with a steely gaze, apparently mentally debating whether she was telling the truth. Reluctantly, he released his hold on her wrists, but he remained straddled atop her with a careful eye on her every move. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she meant what she said. She removed the device and handed it to him. Upon receiving it, he rose and moved away from her, while she slowly sat up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t move,” he ordered. “Stay right there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She quirked an eyebrow. “Why? You still scared?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not,” he snapped, mandibles clacking in irritation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She snickered, an evil smirk on her face. “The hell is this? You really </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>afraid of me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t trust you,” he told her, reaching for both of their weapons and holstering them without taking his eyes off of her. She watched as he attached her pistol to his hip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not letting you out of my sight until I’ve figured out what exactly you’re up to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re taking my weapons from me?” She looked at him in disbelief. “How the hell am I supposed to defend myself once we get back to Omega?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you should have thought of that </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>you attacked me,” he snarked with a shrug of the shoulder. “But don’t worry about it. I’ll give them back later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Later?” she echoed, skeptical.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, later.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked from her to the omni-tool, apparently a bit flustered. “Stay still.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or else?” She held out a hand, smirking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t test me.” He regarded her carefully for a few seconds before turning his attention to her stolen omni-tool. Soon enough, he glanced over at her again, wary.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grinned at him, smug as hell. She knew how badly he wanted to look over that thing, but at the same time, he couldn’t lose his focus on her either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How long would he be able to hold his attention on two things at once?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a displeased shift of his mandibles, he started inspecting the omni-tool, apparently trying to ascertain where she had taken it from. Every now and then, he’d pause to make certain she wasn’t going to cause even more trouble for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second his attention turned back on the omni-tool, she stretched out her legs on the floor. He immediately startled, panicked by the sudden movement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just stretching.” She smiled, well aware of his predicament. “Don’t want to get stiff, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sit over there.” He indicated the wall opposite him. “Back against the wall.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus had said he’d return to his base with her, but as soon as she left to rejoin her crew, he’d likely make a break for it. Without his crew, there was nothing tying him to Omega anymore. He’d probably take up a new persona and restart his vigilantism once again in a new area. The way she saw it, she’d likely never be able to track him down again. Or it would take ages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No. She was not going to let him slip through her fingers. Not when she had him right here and now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, she was alone here, but she’d faced worse odds before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now,” he urged, pointing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out an exaggerated sigh, and once she noticed him sag with annoyance, she took the opportunity to strike. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within seconds, she braced herself (he didn’t immediately react, thinking she was only readying herself to stand) and swung out her legs to sweep him off his feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With their barrel chests, many turians were top heavy. And their legs were, more often than not, very long and thin. So when they fell, they went down hard. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Garrus was no exception. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He fell straight on his ass, despite his scrambling to stay upright. But he kept a hand firmly clasped over her pistol, managing to block her just as she grabbed for it. She struggled with his hand for a second, but once it was clear he wasn’t moving, she grabbed a finger and shoved it backwards. He yelped and lost his grip, so she was finally able to wrest it away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pressed the gun to his temple just as he was raising his other hand to stop her. “Don’t move.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally. She was the one giving the orders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His resulting grunt of pain, however, left her with a stab of guilt. He had managed to subdue her without so much as a scratch on her. But she had had to resort to hurting him to get him under control. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She backed away, keeping her pistol trained on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded to him, lying there as if he were melted into a puddle on the floor. “On your feet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you forget?” he said slowly. “I still haven’t released your crew. If you hurt me, I’ll kill them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smirked. “You never had them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t look surprised. “They contacted you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She urged him on with an impatient tilt of the gun. “On your feet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He slowly obliged, watching her carefully. His eyes then went wild, most likely searching for a distraction. They both knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against her without one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was a good shot, but she didn’t need to be at point blank range. The only way he’d be able to get out of this intact was to distract her long enough to charge her and take the gun away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Too bad for him he kept his ship so clean. There wasn’t anything around for him to use. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had a feeling he already knew why she was here, why she had come after him in the first place. And she didn’t want him to become desperate. “I don’t want to hurt you. Not unless you make me. I just want to talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I’m supposed to believe that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mandibles were buzzing with a restless energy. He was still looking around for something to help him, his eyes frantic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I wanted to kill you, I would have shot you immediately,” she told him. “But I didn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then what </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>you want?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to know what happened to Nihlus.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes became downcast, and he didn’t respond for a long while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was…” she stopped herself, trying to cut back the emotion in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t think these old feelings would creep back up, and now at all times, but here they were. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even after a deep breath, her voice still quavered. “He was my mentor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus met her gaze but didn’t answer right away. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The frenzied look in his eye had left, and she lowered her weapon; she didn’t want to drag the answer out of him at gunpoint. She wanted to hear the simple truth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened to him?” Her voice was still shaking. “Why is he dead?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She waited, but he fell silent again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Council thinks you killed him,” she told him. “I’m offering you the chance to clear things up. If I don’t bring them any answers, the Council will just send another Spectre to take my place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She watched him, standing there in silence. “There’s no guarantee the next Spectre they send after you will be as amiable as me. Maybe you defeat that one, but they’ll just continue to send more until you finally meet your match.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She swallowed again to gather herself. “As for me, I came after you because Nihlus was more than just my mentor. I considered him a close friend. A confidant. I just… I want to know the truth. Please, tell me what happened.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus didn’t speak for a while. Then he moved to stand before the ship’s controls. He leaned on the console, his head bowed. She slowly followed and went to stand near him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s true. I killed Nihlus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” she asked softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why does it matter?” He finally turned to her. “The Council told you to kill me for this, didn’t they? And I just told you I did it. You need to complete your mission, don’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gently shook her head. “I need to know why.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” he echoed, laughing lightly in disbelief. “Does it really matter if I tell you my reasons? I could lie to you, spin the truth to make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> like I was in the right. Why bother listening to me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need closure,” she told him. “You know the feeling. That’s why we went after Sidonis.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He flinched at the mention of the name, as if she had slapped him. Then he stared down at the console before him, or rather, beyond it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He finally shook his head. “Still... Why would you believe me? I knew Sidonis; that’s how I knew he was telling the truth. You don’t know me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t,” she admitted. “But I know Archangel.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes widened in surprise before he slowly turned to face her yet again. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been following Archangel’s exploits for several months now. He…” she hesitated, vaguely wondering if she was revealing too much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But in the end, she decided to just speak her mind. “He inspired me. I believed he was out there to truly make a difference, even out of the worst possible situations. The most lawless station in the galaxy, but Archangel was there to protect those who couldn’t do anything about it. So, no, I don’t think Archangel is a liar. I choose to believe him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gazed at her and then at the ground, unable to speak for some time. Finally, he broke the silence. “I’ve been refusing to face this for a long time. Been quietly trying to atone for it in my own way...” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to face the stars before them. “But it’s time I paid the full price. I’ll tell you my story, so you can have your closure. I owe you that much. But before I do, you have to promise me that you’ll put an end to this. It’s high time I paid for what I’ve done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a promise.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t back out of it,” he insisted. “You can’t feel sorry for me and try to let me off the hook. You can’t treat me like you did Harkin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You admitted it,” she agreed. “And I believe you. So yes, I will make certain you pay for what you’ve done. I owe that to Nihlus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He regarded her carefully a moment before finally sighing and leaning heavily on the console. “Then I’ll tell you everything…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>~~1~~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nihlus quietly closed the door to the hospital room. A tap of his omni-tool silently locked it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he had expected, Garrus was still here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nihlus had seen to it that everyone else had been cleared from the remaining beds, leaving him alone in the room with Garrus and the patient he was attending. It had taken some effort, of course, but it was not impossible, not for a Spectre at least, even without an immediate galactic threat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, Garrus hadn’t noticed any of this. Yet another oversight on his part.     </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Garrus…” Nihlus strode over to him, his posture perfect as always. “I’ve heard you’re still neglecting your commitments… When were you planning on returning to your duty?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus didn’t respond. He merely shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nihlus looked at the woman in the bed beside Garrus. She was unresponsive, lying there as she always did, every time he inquired after Garrus.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Garrus.” Nihlus’ brow furrowed and his mandibles began twitching, indicating his frustration. “I want you to listen carefully.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waited until Garrus’ eyes left the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to be honest with you,” he paused. “Your mother is as good as dead. There is no point in attempting to deny that fact any longer.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nihlus glared at him, but Garrus did not look at him. “In the meantime, you abandon your responsibilities. Waiting here. To no avail.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As a Spectre, this is unacceptable.” He folded his arms behind his back. “This is not only a reflection upon you, but as your former mentor, it is also a reflection upon me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t. I just can’t anymore.” Garrus didn’t look up from his mother’s bedside, his mandibles swaying lightly. “I want to take care of her. To be there for her. She raised me, you know, mostly all on her own. My father was too busy for me, too busy for her, more often than not. I don’t want to be the same as him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s entirely unresponsive. Therefore, she isn’t even aware of your efforts. And she will die soon enough.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She hasn’t yet. And I will stay here until that time comes.” Garrus bowed his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In so choosing, Garrus had forsaken the needs of the entire galaxy, all for one woman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The needs of one over the needs of the many. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nihlus solemnly placed a hand on his pistol. He was a Spectre. He knew well what it meant to do what needed to be done, regardless of the cost. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a blink of an eye, he shot Garrus’ mother in the head. One bullet was all it took.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus didn’t think. He reacted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And his reaction put Nihlus on the floor, all the bullets from an entire clip of an assault rifle lodged in his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>~~2~~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Shepard frowned. “To make you relive that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Suppose it’s just another part of my atonement.” Garrus shook his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then he looked at her, spreading out his hands and waving them impatiently as if to indicate that she should get started. “Well? Get on with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Garrus.” She stood erect and clasped her hands behind her back. “I would like to formally welcome you to the Normandy’s crew. You’ll be staying for a probationary period of six months. After which, you may choose to stay on or transfer out. The choice will be yours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mouth opened and moved, but no words came out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded to him. “Any questions?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We… we had a deal!” he exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re on probation,” she reminded him. “The punishment suits the crime.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head, dumbfounded. “You were going to kill me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give me six months, and maybe you’ll wish I had.” She smirked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Council…” He continued to shake his head, searching for words. “They won’t let you do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a Spectre.” She stretched out her arms and rolled her shoulders. “I can work entirely outside the law whenever I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but you still </span>
  <em>
    <span>answer</span>
  </em>
  <span> to the Council.” He wagged his finger at her, somewhat absentmindedly. “Not to yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, maybe so...” She shrugged and smirked yet again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her expression turned serious. “Do you have evidence?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” He looked at her with disbelief, but she merely waited for him to continue. “Turian hospitals do not have cameras, out of respect for the infirm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not even for security purposes?” she asked, dubious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean,” he momentarily struggled to explain, “there are at the entrances, but that’s of no help here.”      </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t think to record anything on your omni-tool?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like I told you, I didn’t think. I just... reacted.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mother’s autopsy?” she pressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I managed to look into it later.” He shook his head. “Nihlus must have had her doctor write a fake one beforehand because it didn’t even mention a gunshot wound.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s the doctor now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Deceased. Of natural causes. He was elderly at the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard swore under her breath. And of course, with his mother deceased for this long, it would be impossible to order a new one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But as it stood, in her view, Garrus’ story certainly wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Nihlus was a Spectre. It wouldn’t be very difficult for him to coerce someone into altering documents for him. Especially when it’s all in the interest of galactic security. Or rather, all in the interest of Nihlus. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he would cover his tracks thoroughly; it wasn’t like Nihlus to take half-measures on anything. It was what made him a successful infiltrator, after all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard, if I could ask you a question,” Garrus said quietly. “Why are you doing this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I believe in Archangel. And… well, I believe you too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But why?” He nervously tapped his hands together. “I mean, I can somewhat understand Archangel, but why me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>Archangel, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but…” He wanted to continue, but only a small, self-deprecating laugh came out instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Call me what you will,” she shrugged, “but I guess I just have this feeling you aren’t as much of an asshole as you might think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I suppose I have six months to prove you wrong then...” His mandibles pulled away briefly for a quick smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she smiled in return, “then you better get to work.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without warning, she startled. “Damn it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frantically reached out to him. “I need that omni-tool back!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Noting her urgency, he handed it to her. “Why? What’s happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I sent my crew my coordinates... but I neglected to mention that you’re… well, not a threat anymore.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hurriedly began typing away. “There. Should be a little less hostile now. Hopefully…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Damn. Here’s hoping they receive it in time...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus turned to the controls. “No one’s on the radar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a stealth ship,” she pointed out. “It’s not going to show up on the radar.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just then, the ship rumbled. The two of them nearly lost their balance from the resulting shockwave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus scrambled back to the controls. “Something’s locked on. But I can’t tell what. We’re about to be boarded.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the Normandy!” She was certain of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned to the airlock, steeling herself. “Just stay back! And don’t touch any weapons!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He balked, “That’s easy for you to say!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just stay behind me. They won’t attack you once I talk to them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Behind</span>
  </em>
  <span> you?” he repeated, pointedly looking down at her. “So should I crouch down, or…?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The airlock barely had the chance to fully open up before Wrex, glowing with biotic energy, was marching through it. The look on his face suggested he was more than ready to smash his way right on through if he needed to. He looked around briefly, but his eyes immediately fell on Shepard, along with his prey. He rushed towards her. “Shepard!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now wait a second, Wrex!” She held out her hands, rushing towards him and knowing full well he’d hardly listen unless she raised her voice. “Garrus is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a threat!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She barely had the chance to get the words out before he picked her up by the underarms and swung her around until she was behind him. She’d hardly the time to even steady herself before he was already on Garrus. He slammed the turian into the wall and held him there by his neck, only requiring a single hand to do so.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wrex, no!” Shepard was about to run after him, but a hand grabbed her arm. “Liara?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard,” Liara, who had trailed closely after Wrex, looked her over carefully, “did I hear you say Garrus isn’t a threat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He isn’t; he’s on our side!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded once. “Then allow me to handle this.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hurried over to Wrex and prepared to charge up her biotic strength. Letting loose a guttural cry, she pressed her arm in his direction. A large wave of energy sent Wrex flying backwards, but he managed to catch himself from crashing back into the airlock by skidding across the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara’s eyes remained glowing, and she  briefly looked back at Garrus, who was coughing and gasping for air, before deeming him to not be a threat. She turned back to Wrex, energy sizzling in her outstretched palm. “Don’t test me, Wrex. Stand down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Liara…” Wrex breathed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked to Shepard, who had run over to stand before Garrus, her stance indicating she was ready to defend him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mind telling me what the hell’s going on here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe if you’d actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me, you’d already know!” Shepard scowled. “Like I just told you, Garrus is no longer a threat. You can stand down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah!” Wrex rose to his feet. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>decide who’s a threat! And I don’t take threats to your life lightly!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Believe it or not, I have this uncanny feeling</span>
  <em>
    <span> I </span>
  </em>
  <span>might know that best, and yet here I am... telling you I’m. Not. In. Danger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard…” he growled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inwardly, she faltered a little. She knew on a rational level that Wrex would never hurt her, but when he got like this, well, sometimes that dark feeling in the back of her heart betrayed the more logical side of her mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He charged at her. Instinctively, she braced herself for impact. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, Wrex merely grabbed her up in his arms and happily started swinging her around, much like a father with his child. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard!” He finally stopped swinging her and crushed her into his chest, repeating her name again and again with increasing emotion in his voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wrex… </span>
  <em>
    <span>what the hell</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She struggled around in his grip, but it was obviously no use. So she finally stopped moving and just let herself become dead weight in his arms. But that didn’t do anything to dissuade him either.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard…!” His voice cracked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait a second…” she paused, dumbfounded. “Are you… crying?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“S-Shepard…!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she looked at his face, she found he was flat-out bawling now, big, fat tears seeping out from his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, come on. It’s okay…” Shepard awkwardly tried to pat him, but it was hard with her arms somewhat pinned at her sides. He released her just enough to let her hug him, or rather set her arms on him, and then he buried his face in her armor, drenching it in krogan tears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus stepped forward, watching in morbid fascination. “I never thought I’d see the day…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara regarded Garrus carefully before frowning. “It is not abnormal for a krogan to cry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant. Actually I think it’s unbelievable that a krogan like him would fall in love with someone as… well, as tiny as her. And humans are supposed to be squishy, aren’t they? How is it that he doesn’t accidentally crush her whenever he--?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I love Shepard.” Wrex held her tighter. “She is my sister.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. So I’m guessing one of you is adopted…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>siblings!” Shepard exclaimed.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? Then why…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex caught Garrus moving closer to them out of the corner of his eye and whirled about so that Shepard was tucked safely away from him. “If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>try to run off with Shepard again, I’ll personally see to it that every damn plate is ripped off your ugly ass body!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh. Well, I admit you caught me off guard </span>
  <em>
    <span>this time,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but that’s only because you were aboard the Normandy. I doubt you’d be able to put me in this position again all on your own.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you plan on kidnapping Shepard again, huh?” Wrex growled and began to stalk forward with Shepard still in tow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. I was just thinking out loud, planning out my revenge for when you next attack me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You won’t live to see the day…” He bared his teeth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wrex, please.” Shepard poked him in the nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The oddness of the gesture snapped him out of his act. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough bluster. We need to talk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>~~3~~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So that’s what happened,” Shepard finished. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The four of them were seated around the table in the comms room of the Normandy, each of their expressions stoic.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex fixed his gaze on Garrus. “Hell of a story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He regarded him for a while before finally speaking again. “Well, at least he knows how to look out for his own; laws be damned. I gotta admit; I’m starting to like this little asshole.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do realize you’re hardly much taller than I am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you’re scrawny as hell too. Your point?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seriously?” Shepard grimaced. “Let’s not get into this kind of contest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Contest?” Garrus looked at her, puzzled. “I don’t understand; is this some kind of a human or krogan custom?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex smirked knowingly. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>would win.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard decided to change the subject. “Liara? You’ve been awfully quiet for a while now. Anything you want to say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara had been lost in thought, carefully looking down at her hands, clasped upon the table before her. “Oh! I’m sorry, Shepard. I hadn’t realized…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No need for apologies. Do you have any concerns?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t answer right away. “I’m… going to be honest with you, Shepard. You may trust Garrus, but I do not. He tried to kill me when we first encountered one another. I can’t… I won’t forget that so easily.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus started playing with his hands. But before he had a chance to put his foot in his mouth, Shepard jumped in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because he thought you were a hired mercenary sent to kill him. Of course he defended himself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” she shook her head, and when she continued, she spoke with awkward pauses. “But it’s hard for me. The memory is burned into my mind. If Wrex hadn’t saved me, I might have...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s true, but you also fought alongside him, back when Wrex and I were taking care of the shutters.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And he took a terrible hit,” she hesitated. “Maybe if I had forgiven him sooner, I would have helped defend him better. And then ultimately, he wouldn’t have--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Liara.” Shepard reached across the table to rest her hand atop hers. “It wasn’t your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Garrus agreed. “I bet you were exhausted after using your biotics so often. And there isn’t much you could have done against an airship with a pistol. I was the one who needed to take that thing down with my rifle, and of course, they knew that and accordingly targeted me. It’s got nothing to do with you, really. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And,” he continued, “regardless of your feelings towards me, your contributions were invaluable. For what it’s worth, you have my gratitude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you.” She nodded politely. “Now if you’ll excuse me… I’m going to see Dr. Chakwas. I’m starting to feel a bit faint.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.” Shepard nodded. “Be sure to get some rest too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Liara had left, Shepard turned to Wrex. “You should rest too. I recall you using a lot of your biotics today as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah!” He grinned at her. “I’ll rest when I’m dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned. “I’m serious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shot Garrus a sideways glance before facing her again. “So am I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard regarded him with a quirked brow, clearly not buying it. “You’re not even hungry?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His stomach growled just then. “Nope. Not one bit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? Well, your stomach says otherwise.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fed up with his bravado, Shepard irritably indicated the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grumbled as he rose to leave. “Maybe if we had better food, I’d be more interested in eating it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head but didn’t bother answering him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he had left, she turned to Garrus. “You holding up?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a breath. “Yeah. It just feels a bit surreal though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give it time.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She briefly checked her messages, but she still hadn’t received a response from Anderson. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She certainly wasn’t looking forward to filing this report. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get you settled in. Then you can get some proper rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Commander, do you think the Council will… accept any of this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A wave of exhaustion washed over her over the mere mention of the Council, but she gave him a reassuring smile anyway. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle them.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Council</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shepard tries to convince the Council that she handled Nihlus' case appropriately.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Shepard! Good to see you!” Anderson approached and shook her hand with the enthusiasm of a young boy sneaking out of the house for the first time. In a way, it was similar to what he had accomplished for them now, all thanks to his clever thinking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard returned his greeting with a smile. “It’s been too long.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a step back and regarded him warmly. Even now, it seemed as if he hadn’t aged a day. “We haven’t had the chance to properly talk since, well… since I became a Spectre.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I don’t think that day will be today, unfortunately. We’ll need to prepare you for our meeting with the Council.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He paused to nod to Liara and Garrus before indicating the C-Sec officers milling about behind him. “Garrus will need to be placed under surveillance for now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off with a wand of his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry; he can’t be arrested here,” he assured her. “It’s the human embassy, after all. But C-Sec won’t allow him to remain here unattended. We have to abide by their rules; it’s all we can do for now. But, as for you and Liara, follow me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I set everything up as soon as I got your report,” he continued, leading them to a spare office space. “With any luck, Udina won’t be able to catch up to us; he’s still stuck in that meeting with the elcor. I’ll bet you can imagine how long those hold up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you manage to fly all this under his radar?” she asked, smirking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s been busy lately, busy enough that I can handle his duties.” Anderson quickly winked.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When all was said and done, this preparation he mentioned felt like a whirlwind of information was offered up with far too little time to digest it. Like trying to read an entire novel two hours before the exam on it was set to begin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To be frank, Shepard had never formally met with the Council before. They had appeared before her only once when she became a Spectre, but she hadn’t needed to speak much at that time, other than to express her gratitude and commitment. Nihlus had been with her back then, and he had taken care of most of the actual talking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, of course, she was still merely a novice amongst Spectres, which meant her actual encounters with the Council were few and far between. Only top-tier or highly experienced Spectres directly accepted their missions from the Council members themselves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In her case, Udina often spoke for her, selecting the missions she would undertake and briefing her accordingly. Only if he was too busy would the duty fall to Anderson. It went without saying that life was best when Udina was busy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her reports were delivered to the Council, of course, but they were always sent through to Udina first. So, in other words, if she wrote or did something outlandish, Udina could fix it or smooth it over before the Council found out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But yeah, it’s not like that actually happened or anything… much.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes Spectres were called in to clarify their reports in person, but so far, her missions must have been straightforward enough that no additional follow-ups were necessary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As for this mission? Well, of course, they wanted more explanation. Specifically along the lines of: ‘What the hell were you thinking? You were supposed to detain or kill your target, not recruit him for yourself!’ </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was just glad Anderson was at her side now. She didn’t even want to think about how pissed Udina would be at her right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we are.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anderson stepped out of the elevator, while Shepard and Liara followed after him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Council always presented themselves within the Citadel Tower, which looked much like a sleek, ivory pillar from the outside. From the inside, there were plenty of large, flowering trees lining the path to the Council Chambers. Shepard assumed the trees came from a variety of planets representing each of the Council races. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Presidium, the zone outside of the Citadel Tower, was lit up by an artificial sun, but within the tower, there was a lack of such lighting. The only illumination came up from the floor, the eerily fluorescent paths winding along the trees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard?” Liara had apparently taken notice of her hesitance. “How are you feeling?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” She sent her a smile to affirm it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara seemed to see through it, however. She reached out and took her hand, squeezing lightly. “You can do this. I’ll be right beside you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard’s hand tensed slightly, and she hoped Liara didn’t catch on. It felt like a worm had started crawling around in her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she did. A small frown crossed her face, and Liara opened her mouth to speak.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard?” Anderson turned back, already halfway up the stairs leading to the Chambers. “We need to hurry.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s move.” Shepard quickly pulled her hand out of Liara’s grasp and hurried onwards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a small sigh, Liara went after her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together they reached a small platform just beyond the stairs. Here, a large expanse opened up before them. For all its mystique, all along each of the paths leading up to this place, it certainly wasn’t all that impressive up here. It was mostly just an open, empty waste of space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beyond the expanse, a large window looking out over the Presidium shined with the light of the artificial sun outside. So at least it was brighter up here.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Moments upon their arrival, three holograms were projected into the open expanse. It was the projections of each of the three Council members, one turian, one asari, and one salarian. Each of them had perfect posture and sleek, ceremonial garb, reflecting the style of each of their races.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To be perfectly honest, Shepard wasn’t familiar with any of their names. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she should have tried harder to remember that particular bit from her preparation? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh... wait. Anderson assumed she knew this already, which in all honesty, she probably should, at this point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oops. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She believed the turian was called Spartacus, and she only remembered that one because the name reminded her of Sparta from Earth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Each of the Councilmembers supposedly wielded their power equally, but Shepard personally did not believe this to be entirely true. In her view, the asari councilwoman was probably the true leader. She wasn’t entirely certain if the woman was a Matriarch just yet, but she certainly had to be in order to hold such a role.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lastly, there was the salarian councilmember. Shepard wasn’t certain of the name, and she also wasn’t aware of their gender either. She had never quite caught the salarian’s pronouns, and at this point, she was too afraid to ask. To her, the garb suggested a woman, but the voice resembled a man’s. Either way, she found this councilmember tended to speak the least often, at least against the other two.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her personal observations aside, it felt daunting to be speaking directly to the Council. Or rather, directly to their holograms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good afternoon, Commander,” the asari councilwoman spoke directly to Shepard. “We called this meeting here today to discuss your handling of the Nihlus Kryik case.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard nodded once, almost as if offering a polite bow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. Your target was Garrus Vakarian.” The turian councilman appeared to be rifling through tabs on his holopad wherever he was in real life. “You were to either apprehend or eliminate him. Could you explain why he is now housed within the human embassy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You refused his arrest!” the salarian councilmember added, shaking a finger at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Allow me to explain.” Shepard kept her arms tightly clasped behind her back, posture erect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was no different than her days in the military. She could handle this. At the very least, it was best to think positively right now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“After reviewing the facts of the case, I deemed it excessive to bring him in for arrest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>deemed it excessive?” the salarian repeated, apparently holding up a datapad in real life, but nothing in hologram form. “On what authority?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My authority as a Spectre.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three councilmembers exchanged glances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally the asari councilwoman spoke. “Commander, while it is true Spectres inhabit a space outside of galactic law, they do not supersede the will of the Council.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are new to your Spectre status,” the turian continued. “And indeed, humans themselves are recent newcomers to the galactic stage. Therefore, we have chosen to answer your recklessness with patience and understanding.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, his voice sounded anything but patient and understanding as he said this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“With all due respect,” Shepard broke in, her voice firm yet not unkind, “I do believe I am fulfilling my duty as a Spectre. As I detailed in my report, I had a close relationship to Nihlus. As such, I believe I have unique insight into his goals and motivations. Not only do I know what really happened to him; I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>it happened too. I acted as I did in order to preserve the Council’s best interests.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes... you mentioned this in your report.” He held his head with clear annoyance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You believe Nihlus Kryik killed Garrus Vakarian’s mother in order to create the perfect Spectre,” the salarian broke in. “Freed from the worries regarding his mother, Kryik believed Vakarian would finally go on to perform even greater as a Spectre. But Vakarian responded by killing him in a fit of anger. A fine story, but I fail to see how any of this pertains to the matter at hand! The fact remains that Vakarian murdered Kryik! And yet you refuse to even arrest him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate to be grisly, but have you ever watched someone kill your mother?” Shepard questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Of course Garrus attacked Nihlus. He did it to protect his family. Anyone in his position would. So there is no need for a trial. As a Spectre, I used my authority to save the Council time and resources by processing the case myself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Additionally, Garrus will serve the Council alongside me. If he falls out of line, I’ll handle him personally. You can count on that. So if I’m mistaken in my assessment, the only one to suffer would be me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s all well and good.” The turian councilman waved his hand dismissively. “A fine theory you have there, but it’s truly just that. A theory. The fact remains that you have no proof to support any of your claims. The woman in question’s autopsy did not even mention a gunshot wound.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As I said before, I have unique insight into Nihlus,” Shepard insisted. “I know he had that report falsified. He’s too clever to let something like that slip. Again, I used my discretion to guide me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He grumbled, shaking his head yet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The asari councilwoman spoke up, “We thought you might press this point. That is why we invited Saren Arterius to this meeting. He served as Nihlus’ mentor, and as such, he would share your insights into his motivations, ultimately rendering these insights not as ‘unique’ as you claim.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A brick fell in Shepard’s stomach. Saren was not a name she wanted to hear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Saren. A turian Spectre, one of the best. The youngest ever to receive the honor, and his years of exemplary service made him the Council’s favorite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was also a racist asshole who wanted to watch Shepard burn. Most times, it was funny as hell, but now… well, she wasn’t looking forward to this quite as much as she was pulling silly faces at him in the Spectre offices.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She made the mistake of turning to Anderson. His jaw had tightened, and his hands were clenched into fists. She quickly looked away before he could make eye contact. Saren was connected to his tragic backstory™, and she really didn’t need to be reminded of that again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within moments, Saren’s form became illuminated by a hologram. His hologram was, of course, far larger than anyone else’s and floated off to the side and above everyone else’s. Oddly enough, it suited him. He was dramatic like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard brought a hand to her face to collect herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Saren was leering at her already, glaring at her with his electric blue robot-looking contact lenses. His fringe was delicately covered with a wide fabric headband, which lent him an air of cuteness he didn’t deserve, and it also accentuated his long cheek fringe. Normally only female turians had long cheek and mandible fringes, while the male turians’ fringe was only long on the back of the head. But Saren, of course, thought he was especially cool because all of his fringes were long. Except for his mandible fringe, but we don’t talk about that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aside from that, Saren didn’t have facial tattoos, like most adult turians. Normally this was looked upon with derision, since it signified that one didn’t have pride for their homeland. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Saren was too extra to be an ordinary turian. No, he needed to decorate his face with cybernetics instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If anyone asked, and to be perfectly honest, no one did, he would go on and on about how his true homeland was within the Ultranet. It was probably connected to a cult or something, but no one really knew that for certain. Whenever the topic came up, he would talk about it for so long that everyone wound up losing interest before actually finding out anything significant about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard had tried looking it up once, but the information dragged on just as badly as Saren did. So she ended up falling asleep. She was also drunk at the time, so that didn’t help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anyway, Saren was talking now, and she really needed to listen for Garrus’ sake. “--a waste of my time!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah, so he was only bitching this whole time. Yeah, that sounded about right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We apologize for the wait, but we appreciate your time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And </span>
  </em>
  <span>your perspective.” The asari councilwoman pointedly looked at Shepard as she said this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard flinched. Maybe she didn’t have this handled, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get straight to the point.” Spartacus looked over his files in real life, but now he just looked like he was examining an invisible datapad. “Saren, do you believe it is likely that Nihlus would coerce a doctor to falsify an autopsy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Saren was staring at Shepard. She faintly shook her head, letting her feelings of terror leak out onto her expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few seconds of studying her, Saren’s mandibles pulled back to reveal a positively evil smile. “Of course he would.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard made a quiet show of grabbing her hair, her expression one of despair. The councilmembers did not even notice her, seeing as Saren was here now, and he was their favorite. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Deception is standard procedure for Nihlus,” Saren went on to say, watching her supposed horror with glee. “He was one of the best infiltrators I have ever had the privilege to work with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The turian councilman nodded. “Thank you, Saren. Your insight has proven most valuable today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But wouldn’t you like to know the details?” the salarian councilmember questioned. “You may change your mind once you hear the full story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t the time.” Saren waved his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard noticed that he was wearing fingerless gloves on his right hand so that his talons were on full display. That was new.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His left arm was always free of armor entirely, aside from a shoulder plate, as he believed his best biotic powers came to him while he was naked. No one wanted to know what had actually prompted this revelation, but thankfully, he only needed to use only one of his arms for the full effect. So yes, only his left arm was always naked; no need to worry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But maybe now he was developing biotic powers in his turian talons too. If so, they would obviously need to be free and naked for that. Or maybe this was a new fashion statement; that headband was getting old, after all, and he needed something new to freshen that image. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being edgy was a commitment for sure.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A commitment Shepard didn’t share. All she needed was green armor so that she could look like Doom Guy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh. And dresses. For time off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What? Even a commander likes to look pretty now and then. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s all, I’ll be taking my leave,” Saren was saying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. Thank you, Saren.” The asari councilmember nodded to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Saren’s head whipped around to face Shepard one last time. “One more thing. Since Shepard is clearly unable to handle the demands of a Spectre on her own, I suggest she cease in all activities from this point forward. I have my own missions to handle; I haven’t the time to clean up after her messes. As it stands, it’d be better for the galaxy if she didn’t participate at all, rather than to merely add to the problems that she was intended to solve in the first place.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And with that said, he ended the transmission. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charming as always. But she got what she wanted from him, at least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The councilmembers looked to one another before the asari offered her a rare smile. “Commander Shepard. With Saren’s support, the Council has decided to approve your decision to clear Garrus Vakarian of all charges, pending a brief tenure aboard your vessel. We trust you will monitor his actions appropriately.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.” Shepard gave a single nod. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“However,” the turian broke in, “your actions were rash. To discourage such behavior in the future, you and your vessel will be suspended from participation in any Spectre activity for the remainder of the week. Consider this a fair warning.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for your time. You are dismissed.” The asari nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The holograms abruptly disappeared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara brought her clasped hands to her face. “That was...!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better than I ever would have expected!” Anderson took Shepard’s hands in his and shook them; he was positively bouncing with energy. “You even handled Saren!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, Shepard’s knees still felt rather weak. “Couldn’t have done it without you. That prep was rough but entirely worth it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anderson was now vigorously patting her shoulder. “Let’s tell Garrus the good news!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard nodded, still hardly believing this was indeed real.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>~~1~~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is the meaning of this?!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Udina met them at the door to the embassy; his 1970s anchorman voice stern as ever as he demanded answers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But for now, Shepard ignored him, instead heading straight for the C-Sec officers stationed beside Garrus. “He’s clear. You’ve got no need to be here anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One of them checked his omni-tool and nodded. They left accordingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard!” Udina roared. “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you ignore me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a thumbs up in response to Garrus’ questioning look before finally facing Udina. “Is there a problem?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A vein pulsed in his forehead. “You’re carrying on as if you haven’t a clue where you’ve come from! You were a human </span>
  <em>
    <span>long </span>
  </em>
  <span>before you became a Spectre, and it’s high time you acted like it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, damn…” Shepard scratched her face. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>human…</span>
  </em>
  <span>? And here I thought I was elcor…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve had </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough </span>
  </em>
  <span>of your sass, Shepard!” Udina wagged a finger in her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t talk about my ass; that’s sexual harassment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said </span>
  </em>
  <span>your sass!”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Udina, please.” Anderson moved in, wrapping an arm around Udina’s shoulders. “Shepard needs a moment to debrief her crew. We have some things we need to discuss, so why don’t we give her a few moments? We can talk with her again in about ten minutes or so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ten minutes!” Udina echoed, still waving that finger. “You better have a good explanation for me by then, Shepard!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She merely hummed noncommittally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After he and Anderson moved off to the far side of the room to talk, Garrus turned to Shepard. “How did it go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She filled him in on what had happened with the Council. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And now you’re suspended…” Garrus began to gaze at the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard waved a hand as if to dismiss the very idea. “That’s just another word for shore leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shore leave?” he echoed. “I suppose that’s one way of looking at it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard sent him finger guns. “Party time…!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By the way,” Liara frowned thoughtfully, “how did you know baiting Saren like that would work?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard shrugged. “Because he’s a salty little bitch. How else?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now, Udina was making his way over to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Speaking of salty little bitches…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard.” Udina folded his arms across his chest. “You have five minutes. Explain yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She spread out her arms. “Sure. You were busy, so I went to Anderson for help. The details are in my report. See you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned to leave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now wait just a minute!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Udina’s voice was usually incredibly irritating. It was even worse when he was angry. And here he was, furious. “What’s this I hear about a turian joining your crew?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup, he’s right here.” Shepard pointed at him, the guy who was currently standing right next to her. “Maybe you should try to talk </span>
  <em>
    <span>to </span>
  </em>
  <span>people, instead of </span>
  <em>
    <span>about </span>
  </em>
  <span>them.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head like a mother disappointed in her child. “Hopefully one day, you’ll learn your manners…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have a lot of nerve, speaking to me about manners!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Sure.” She threw up her hands. “So is there actually a problem here? Or are you just feeling particularly racist today and wanted to blow off some steam?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have far too many aliens aboard your ship, Commander!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And there it is…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He continued, “This is unbecoming of a former Alliance officer. We have many great men and women for you to choose from, and yet, every time I look into it, nearly all the positions amongst your senior staff are filled by aliens. You are becoming far too comfortable with the Council races, Shepard.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard folded her arms over her chest. “And your point is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, you two.” Anderson stepped between them and clapped a hand on each of their shoulders. “You’ve both been working too hard. You’re at each other’s throats. How about we all take a step back and cool off? Shepard’s on leave now, so there’s no rush to sort things out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard’s not on leave; she’s been suspended!” Udina corrected. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he sighed and shook his head. “I have work to do. We’ll untangle this mess later.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that said, he took off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anderson watched him leave. “I think he took that well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he only bothered to offend my crew once,” Shepard said sarcastically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anderson placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m proud of you for building a diverse team. Their perspectives will prove invaluable to you moving forward.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus was looking at him with a hint of doubt in his eyes, which Anderson immediately caught onto. “And yes, I remember the First Contact War. I served in it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus looked away, immediately uncomfortable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But that war was a long time ago. And I’m happy that it ended quickly, since it means your generation is mostly free of the division still plaguing mine. But relations can always improve. If you work hard to understand one another, you’ll inspire hope in others. Together we can build a brighter future.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know it.” Shepard reached out to shake his hand. “Thanks for everything today. I really appreciate it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anderson next offered his hand to Garrus, who hadn’t expected the gesture (and he wasn’t accustomed to it either, given that turians did not practice anything equivalent). So he returned it awkwardly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Liara, now thoroughly used to the gesture (after having served aboard the Normandy for over a year now), accepted Anderson’s handshake with a bright smile. “It’s always good to see you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Afterwards, Anderson needed to attend to his own duties, so the trio filed out of the embassies together. They hadn’t gotten far before Garrus spoke up. “So I take it you don’t get along with Ambassador Udina?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shrugged and smirked. “What gave you that idea?” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fair warning: In upcoming chapters, I'm going to change some characters' gender identities to increase some of the diversity in the ME universe. I already did so with Bailey, but I'll be doing that with more prominent characters soon (not any of the ones we've already established, of course).</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Rogue Program</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shepard manages to convince a couple others to join her on shore leave. A threat to the Citadel has other plans.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shepard was sneaking around the mess hall looking for a quick bite to eat when she noticed that the lights above the door to the main battery were now green. Apparently it was unlocked. </p><p>This was odd. It normally wouldn’t be left unlocked unless someone was in there, and with everyone out on leave, no one should actually be in there now. </p><p>She took a breath to calm herself. She didn’t have any weapons or armor on her, so she hoped this was just a simple mistake on someone’s part. Or maybe someone was bored and decided to hang out in there? But why anyone would <em> want </em>to spend time in the main battery eluded her. Out here was where all the food was, so…</p><p>She tapped away at her omni-tool and discovered that there was some activity in there. Apparently someone was optimizing the firing algorithms? Well, that meant they probably weren’t an enemy, at least. Normally villains didn’t try to improve their enemies’ rigs.</p><p>Now fully intrigued, she headed over to find out who would be busying themselves with something like this during shore leave. And here she had been disappointed in herself for scouring the extranet all morning. Whoever was in there was definitely going to need a lesson on how to take a break.</p><p>“Garrus?”</p><p>“Commander.” He nodded by way of greeting but didn’t bother to turn around to face her. Instead he continued typing away at the console before him. “Need me for something?”</p><p>“Yeah, I do. I’m going to need you to explain to me what you’re doing in here instead of taking time off.” </p><p>She wandered over to his side and gazed up at him. She hated the lighting in here; it was too dim and everything seemed to have a reddish hue. She couldn’t even see Garrus’ eyes, thanks to the heavy shadow beneath his brow plates. It gave her the eerie feeling of talking to a haunted turian mask rather than, you know, an actual living turian. </p><p>He turned to face her and opened his mouth to speak before taking in the silly smile on her face. </p><p>And here he was about to answer her seriously. </p><p>“Well, after what I’ve been through, calibrating a giant gun feels like a vacation.”</p><p>“Yeah, except you can do that anytime, and shore leave only comes around every so often.”</p><p>“Right…”</p><p>She waited but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he started watching one of the nearby display panels.</p><p>“So, what do you normally like to do while on leave?” she prompted.</p><p>He scratched his face. “Well... mostly make plans for when I get back to work…”</p><p>He turned to her. “I had some ideas about the forward cannon?” He actually posed the question as if he wanted to talk about it right now.</p><p>“Yeah, but we can talk about that when we’re actually, you know, working.”  </p><p>“Right… um. Okay. We can... do that.”</p><p>She nodded. “You used to work at the Citadel, right? Then I bet you know all kinds of fun things to do here. So what was your favorite way to spend your free time?” </p><p>She held up a hand before he could answer. “<em> Other </em>than prepare for work.”</p><p>“Well…” he paused, apparently thinking carefully. “I heard Flux is pretty popular. You could always try the gambling there, if you’re feeling lucky.”</p><p>“I wasn’t looking for a recommendation, actually,” she pointed out. “I wanted to know what <em> you </em>like to do.”</p><p>He turned back to the console and touched the interface. “Well, I wanted to--”</p><p>“I know,” she interrupted. “But you can get back to that once you’re <em> on </em>the clock. Now that we’re off the clock, we need to find something fun to do. We don’t have chances like this everyday, you know.”</p><p>“Right. Uh… let me think.” </p><p>He stopped to ruminate for a while, apparently thinking quite hard about this.</p><p>Now she was starting to feel like she put too much pressure on him. “You know what? You mentioned Flux right away; let’s go there. If you think of anything else along the way, we could do that too.”</p><p>“Commander?” He sounded confused, but she couldn’t exactly tell as much by his expression (since she couldn't see shit in this room). “I thought you were sending me off; I didn’t think you’d actually--I mean, you aren’t too busy?” </p><p>“I’m on leave. Of course I’m not busy. Now let’s go.”</p><p>He followed after her as they made their way to the elevator. They had nearly reached it when Wrex came barreling around a corner. </p><p>“Hey!” he barked. “You trying to kidnap Shepard again?!”</p><p>Garrus pointed at her weakly. “Actually she is--”</p><p>“We’re going to hang out at Flux,” Shepard told him. “You want to join us?”</p><p>“Hmph. Lost a lot of credits gambling there once. Been pissed ever since,” he paused, regarding them carefully. “But I guess they got ryncol there…</p><p>“Yeah, you kids can have your fun. <em> I’ll </em> be at the bar. And I’ll be keeping an eye on <em> you </em>, Vakarian. So don’t bother scheming!”</p><p>“I’ll try to keep that in mind…” Garrus scratched his face. </p><p>“Okay! Then let’s go.” Shepard practically hopped into the elevator. </p><p>After the two of them piled in after her, she hit the controls to get them on their way. Then she turned to face them again.</p><p>“Wait a second...” She regarded them with a quirked brow. “Why are you both dressed in armor? We’re on shore leave at the Citadel. You guys <em> do </em>know it’s safe there, right?”</p><p>“Hah!” Wrex rapped his fists together. “It’s only safe once <em> I’m </em>there!”</p><p>“Okay. But why the armor?”</p><p>“Because it amplifies my sex appeal.” Wrex nudged Garrus’ shoulder with his fist. “So what’s <em> your </em>excuse?”</p><p>“Turians don’t have many options when it comes to casual clothing, so I tend to opt out entirely.” Garrus brushed off his shoulder where Wrex’s hand had been. “Comes with the culture, I guess.” </p><p>“Blegh. Now there’s a mental image I didn’t need.” </p><p>Garrus turned on him. “Are you trying to say something?” </p><p>“Not ‘trying’ to say shit. I deadass <em> declared </em>it.” Wrex pointed at him in a show of defiance. “Here. Let me say it again, in more simple terms. You are an ugly bastard.”</p><p>“Huh. Well, I’ll try not to be too offended.” Garrus sniffed. “Not everyone has a thing for scars. But I hear krogan women do. I guess it’s no surprise you’re trying so hard to put me down.”</p><p>The elevator had long since arrived, but the two of them were too busy trading barbs to notice.</p><p>Shepard waved to get their attention. “So am I heading to Flux alone, or is anyone coming with me?”</p><p>~~1~~</p><p>“So this is Flux, huh?” Shepard mused. “I don’t think I’ve ever been.”</p><p>Flux was two stories. The dance floor was right off the entrance. It was rather small, but the disco lights were fun without being overly obnoxious. The music was a decent volume too. The beats sounded like peppy electronica, a vast change to the bassy grunge music from Omega’s Afterlife. Beyond the dance floor was the bar. The stairs near the bar apparently led to the gambling machines. </p><p>“Hey! Another human!” The bouncer took notice of her just then. </p><p>He was a scrawny white dude with short brown hair who didn’t look like he was armed. He stepped up to her and, without warning, took her hand and enthusiastically shook it. “It isn’t often I see other humans here! Thanks for stopping by!”</p><p>“Yeah, sure…” She tried to politely remove her hand from his, but he seemed hellbent on remaining in her personal space. </p><p>Wrex was starting to get impatient with the hold-up; why were they all clustered up right in front of the entrance? </p><p>He was parched. The whole reason why he had bumped into Shepard and Garrus in the first place was because he had been trying to swipe something to drink from the mess. And now here he was, getting held up all over again. “Make way; make way!”      </p><p>The bouncer gaped at the sight of an angry krogan and hurriedly wrapped an arm around Shepard to direct her out of the way. But at this point, she was getting tired of this guy. “Don’t touch me!” </p><p>When he didn’t let go, she shoved him away from her and quickly stepped to the side to avoid the arm attempting to bring her down with him. </p><p>“Hey, I was just trying to help you!” After steadying himself, he tried to reach out and take her arm in an attempt to appease her, but she immediately swatted him away. “That krogan’s out for blood; I only wanted to make sure you weren’t flattened!”</p><p>Figuring that guy was about five seconds away from getting exactly what he deserved, Wrex snickered and headed for the bar. </p><p>Garrus let him pass before moving over to Shepard. “Is there a problem here?”</p><p>“Hey, lady, no need to be so hostile, I was only--” The bouncer stopped doling out platitudes once he took notice of a heavily armored turian trying to get his attention. He immediately put the wrong pieces together, quickly stepped away from Shepard, and offered them both a fake smile. “Oh, uh, no. Nothing’s wrong. Have fun!” </p><p>Shepard walked away with a grimace still on her face. </p><p>Garrus followed her, looking perplexed. “What happened back there?”</p><p>“A pushy asshole was back there; that’s what happened.”</p><p>“Hmm. Sorry about that.”</p><p>“Not your fault.” She was watching the dance floor now, intrigued. “We came here to gamble, but maybe we should dance first.”   </p><p>“Sure. Why not?” he agreed.</p><p>She stepped up to the dance floor and gave it a shot. </p><p>It wasn’t long before Garrus was at her side again. “Uh, Shepard? What are you doing?”</p><p>She turned to face him, puzzled. “Dancing… What else?”</p><p>He quickly looked away. “Ah... Right.”</p><p>“What?” She stopped. </p><p>“Nothing. I--ah...” He pointed at the stairs. “I’ll be up there.”</p><p>“Okay.” She shrugged. “I’ll join you then, I guess.”</p><p>Garrus chose a low stakes machine, so she followed suit, choosing one beside his. The game was similar to blackjack, or something like that. Regardless, it wasn’t too difficult; just a silly game of chance. After winning several rounds and losing quite a few too, she wound up earning... five whole credits. </p><p>“Damn.” Garrus apparently lost his last round. He turned to Shepard. “How many credits have you won so far?”</p><p>She held up five fingers. “You?”</p><p>He held up his hand in turn. So, three whole credits. </p><p>Wow. They were going to drown in credits at this rate.</p><p>“Let’s try the high stakes ones,” he suggested, moving over to another set of machines.</p><p>“What’s with that one?” Shepard pointed to the one in the corner. It was flashing oddly; its lights were sorely out of tune with the other nearby machines. </p><p>Garrus activated his omni-tool and examined it. “There’s a rogue program here, siphoning off credits. I’ll see if I can’t disable it.” </p><p>Before long, his eyes widened, and he blinked rapidly. “What the hell? It just... disappeared…</p><p>“Ah, there’s a mass effect field! It must have used that to hop off to another machine. That’s… some pretty clever programming. Must be an expert hacker.”</p><p>“Why would an expert hacker go after a <em> gambling machine </em>?”</p><p>“I don’t know. Short on credits, maybe?” He started adjusting settings for his visor. “But I’ll keep an eye out; see if I can’t find traces of that program in any other machines around here.”</p><p>“Hmm. Guess that means we’re going exploring.” Shepard folded her arms and nodded. “Should we pick up Wrex?”</p><p>“Probably. Who knows where it could have escaped to next.”</p><p>They headed downstairs, only to find Wrex being accosted by a turian C-Sec officer (it seemed like they were <em> always </em>turians). It didn’t look like a friendly chat. </p><p>Shepard growled and immediately hurried over. She took a seat nearby and promptly began recording audio on her omni-tool.</p><p>The second her chair so much as squeaked, the officer whirled around with an air of irritation. “Hey! Stand aside, lady. I’m in the middle of an investigation.”</p><p>“And I’m just sitting here at the bar,” Shepard insisted. “That some kind of crime?”</p><p>He startled at the sight of her activated omni-tool. “Are you recording?! That’s not allowed. You need to turn that off right now.”</p><p>“This is a private establishment,” she pointed out. “If the owner wants it off, I’ll do it. But I don’t answer to you.”</p><p>“The hell you don’t!” The officer rounded on her, his finger in her face. “You’ll turn that off <em> now </em>, or I’m bringing you in!”</p><p>“You don’t have the authority to do that.”</p><p>“Alright, wiseass. Keep your hands where I can see them.” He whipped out his omni-tool to scan her. “I’m gonna need a name, human.” </p><p>“Commander Amelie Shepard.” She watched him with a satisfied smile as his face went from confusion, to revelation, to horror. </p><p>“Ah, n-never mind. I’ll just--be on my way. Sorry for bothering you, Commander.” </p><p>He gave her a hasty yet polite nod and made to leave.</p><p>She held up a hand to stop him. “What’s the hurry? I thought you were in the middle of an investigation?”</p><p>He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Yeah, I, uh... I got a call about a krogan stirring up trouble.”</p><p>“Yeah? So now you’re just… leaving?”</p><p>His mandibles swayed a bit, indicating that he was flustered. “Ah… well…”</p><p>She waited as he apparently struggled to find his words.</p><p>“I was told the krogan was at Flux,” the officer insisted. “There’s only one krogan here, so… Yeah! I started questioning him.”</p><p>“But he’s just sitting there, having a drink!” Shepard exclaimed. “Clearly, he’s not the one you’re looking for.”</p><p>“Do you see any <em> other </em>krogan here?”</p><p>She quickly looked around for verification before answering. “Well, obviously that krogan must have left already. Or maybe whoever called them in was racist or paranoid, or something.”</p><p>“I don’t need to be told how to do my job,” he snarked. “Commander, why don’t <em> you </em> focus on <em> your </em> duties, and <em> I’ll </em>go on to do my own?”</p><p>“Sure, sure. Just remember.” She tapped her omni-tool. “Someone <em> could </em>be watching you.”</p><p>After the officer left, Shepard settled in the seat beside Wrex so that he could finish his drink in peace before they bothered him about the rogue program. </p><p>Garrus moved in beside her. “Ah, Commander?”</p><p>“Hmm?” She turned to him. </p><p>He played with his hands for a moment before responding. “Commander, it’s… well, it’s important for officers to conduct investigations. If they didn’t stop anyone for a talk, we’d never be able to find and prosecute criminals. What you did back there, interfering with an investigation like that, I don’t think that was right.”</p><p>Well, that’s one way to completely miss the point. </p><p>“For fuck’s sake,” Wrex grunted. “I’m <em> not </em>in the mood for copaganda.” </p><p>Shepard tapped Garrus’ arm and indicated that they should move somewhere else. After they sat down at a table, she gave him ‘that’ look. “Seriously…?”</p><p>He blinked and looked about himself. “What?”</p><p>She smacked her hands to her face. “Okay. Yes, cops <em> should </em> investigate things. But they need to know when to <em> back off </em> when there’s clearly no actual danger.”</p><p>His brow furrowed. “He was only making certain of that.”</p><p>“No, he was wasting his time being a racist ass.” Shepard shook her head, irritated. “What if there <em> was </em>a krogan out there causing trouble, but they left just before that cop showed up? You know, someone that could be a real, actual threat? And that guy missed them because he was too busy interrogating Wrex?”   </p><p>“I’ll admit his priorities might be a little off, but it’s still important to make certain that there aren’t any threats to the peace. Someone <em> did </em> call in somebody matching Wrex’s characteristics, after all.”</p><p>“Well, at least you admit something was off…” She shook her head again. “But let’s be honest, that whole story about getting a ‘call about a krogan’ was probably bullshit. He was harassing Wrex just because he can and because he wanted to.”</p><p>“Well, now that’s going a bit far. You don’t know that.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” Shepard was suddenly very exhausted. “Now I’m afraid to know what kind of cop you were.”</p><p>“Not sure what you mean by that, but…” </p><p>Garrus made a strange expression, one that she had never really seen from any turian before. An uneasy smile, maybe? His mandibles were sort of flaring, but they were also kind of awkwardly frozen in place. Then they just snapped back into a neutral position. </p><p>She abruptly leaned back, startled. Usually, turian mandibles didn’t freeze like that when they’re that far away from the person’s face, but apparently no one she had met before was quite as awkward as Garrus. </p><p>And that snap-back… What the hell. Was it possible for a turian to break their own face?</p><p>“I guess I could... explain my background?” Garrus suggested. “If it will put your fears to rest?” </p><p>“Uh, yeah, sure. I guess we got some time to kill anyways, and now, you’ve got me curious.”</p><p>“Well, I started out in the Presidium. Not much crime there, so the patrols were mostly for show...” </p><p>Then he told her about how he started working in the investigations unit next. Which made sense. He <em> did </em>have a brain in that head, after all, so they’d need him to use it. Too bad he didn’t use that brain to look at the bigger picture.</p><p>Now Shepard sat still and thought this over. So was he actually a closeted bigot, or was he just a sheltered ignoramus? The two <em> were </em>pretty closely connected, after all. </p><p>“So is this why you became Archangel?” she mused. “I guess if you really wanted to be this wild, gung-ho cop, it would definitely be easy to punish all the criminals you wanted on Omega. There’s plenty of them out there, and they even wear uniforms for easy identification.”</p><p>“Well... yes? I think?” </p><p>He awkwardly tilted his head to the side before continuing. “Omega doesn’t have anything even remotely resembling a police force. Like you said, there are boundless criminals, and no one around to make them think twice before harming the innocent. So I decided I would be that ‘second thought’.” </p><p>A devious smile overtook his features. “Took down more criminals in a week than I could in a year during my time at C-Sec. My old manager would have been proud.”</p><p>Shepard rolled her eyes. For fuck’s sake... </p><p>Somehow Archangel was starting to sound a whole lot less sexy and mysterious... </p><p>Turns out he was really just a rogue cop gone wild. At least he wanted to protect the innocent… I guess. </p><p>“Yeah… Okay. But there’s a difference between dealing with a shit-ton of criminals and manufacturing a shit-ton of criminals just so that you can play hero.”</p><p>Garrus blinked. “Manufacture? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”</p><p>“Garrus…” Shepard sighed before clasping her hands together. “Uh… okay. I guess what I’m trying to say is that policing Omega is… really nothing at all like policing the Citadel. And--”</p><p>“I know! There’s so much red tape!” he shook his head in disgust. “That’s why I left actually, and I don’t regret a second of it.”</p><p>“It’s <em> not </em>the damn red tape.” Shepard narrowed her eyes. “The real difference is that the criminals don’t wear uniforms here.”</p><p>“That’s why I was saying you need to perform investi--”</p><p>“You’re missing the point!” Shepard snapped, her patience now entirely lost. </p><p>Garrus looked rather stunned at her outburst but held his tongue. </p><p>Now she felt a little guilty.</p><p>She took a breath. “Listen. It’s just--Earth has a long history with law enforcement. It’s not always very pretty. Actually, it’s... written in blood. With the blood of... unarmed civilians, to be precise.”</p><p>“I’m not familiar with that,” he said at last. “I’ll have to do some research.”</p><p>Shepard gazed at her hand, which was firmly clenched. She hid it under the table. “Yeah. Please do.”</p><p>Wrex slumped into the seat across from Shepard. “Alright, kiddies. You win a massive amount of credits or what?”</p><p>“We earned eight credits...” Garrus explained, awkwardly pointing between the two of them. </p><p>Wrex didn’t say anything right away. Then he started to get up to leave. “Get back up there and don’t come back until you lay down some real money.”</p><p>“We found a rogue program that was stealing credits,” Shepard told him. </p><p>Wrex did a double take. “Did you use it?”</p><p>“No. Using that program would be a crime,” Garrus answered matter-of-factly. “We tried to disable it.” </p><p>“Why the hell would you do that?” Wrex waved his arms around in frustration. “Look. Capture it. Use it. Then we take <em> back </em>all those credits they stole from me.”</p><p>“No one stole credits from you. You lost them yourself.”</p><p>Wrex glared at Garrus. Then he pounced on him, trapping him in a headlock.  </p><p>“Wrex, enough!” Shepard snapped. “We already had cops sniffing around. Do you <em> want </em>to get into it with them again?” </p><p>He released Garrus pointedly. Then he wheeled around, daring any onlooker to oppose him. </p><p>“I was <em> joking </em>! Just ribbing my friend here!” he loudly declared to anyone that might have been listening.</p><p>“Who said we’re friends?” Garrus grunted, rubbing his neck. </p><p>“<em> If the cops ask </em>, we are friends.”</p><p>“Enough!” Shepard exclaimed. “Now let’s go look for that program.”  </p><p>“Where are we supposed to look?” Wrex grumbled, following after the two of them as they headed off to wander the Wards.</p><p>“Anywhere there’s a device,” Garrus answered. “I’ll be able to detect it with my visor, so I’ll keep an eye out.”</p><p>“Great. You just keep your nerd vision on, boy.” Wrex nodded. </p><p>“I am <em> this </em>close, Wrex,” Shepard warned. </p><p>“Good,” Wrex chuckled. “Watching you blow up might cure my boredom.”</p><p>“It’s there!” Garrus ran up to a medi-gel dispenser near the entrance of a nearby hospital. He immediately activated his omni-tool, only to curse shortly afterwards. “Another mass effect field! It escaped!”</p><p>“That was fast,” Shepard remarked, looking at Garrus curiously. “Almost like--”</p><p>“It’s adapting,” Garrus affirmed. “I’ll have to change up my approach, next time we find it.”</p><p>She nodded, and they made to leave. </p><p>“Garrus? Is that you?”</p><p>They turned back to see a red-haired white human woman dressed in a doctor’s uniform exiting the hospital. </p><p>She looked astonished to see Garrus, only to hurriedly smooth her short and wavy hair. “Garrus! I thought you--I mean, I remember you became a Spectre, but then… oh, I haven’t seen you in such a long time, and you weren’t answering any of your messages… And when I checked for your name in the Spectre registry, it was gone! I… I feared the worst.”</p><p>“It’s… Well, it’s kind of a long story…” Garrus rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you with the details. But I’m okay now. No longer a Spectre, but… yes, I’m working with a new crew now, and I’m just fine.”</p><p>“Who is she?” Shepard asked. Her tone came out a bit sharper than she had intended, so she instantly regretted even opening her mouth at all. </p><p>She didn’t like how Wrex suddenly snapped out of his bored expression and slowly turned to face her with an evil smirk on his face. She stared straight ahead, trying to ignore him.</p><p>“I was wondering the same thing…” The woman briefly glanced over at her and Wrex before looking back at Garrus.</p><p>“Right. Time for introductions.” Garrus nodded. “These are my squadmates, Commander Shepard and Urdnot Wrex. And this is Dr. Michel. She works here at the clinic.”</p><p>“Commander Shepard?” she repeated, looking her over. “Oh! The first human Spectre! I hardly recognized you…”</p><p>“Yeah. Probably because she looks like a fairy princess right now,” Wrex laughed. </p><p>Shepard frowned. “I don’t have to wear armor all day, every day, you know. And just because I happen to be wearing a dress does <em> not </em>mean I’m a damn fairy princess!”</p><p>“Anyway,” Garrus broke in, nodding politely to Dr. Michel, “it was nice to see you again, Doctor. I’m glad to see you’re well.”</p><p>“Thank you.” She smiled. “Please don’t hesitate to drop by whenever you’re injured or unwell. I’m available anytime you need me. <em> Anytime </em>.”</p><p>Wrex narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin. Something about the way she said that...</p><p>Garrus thanked her before parting ways. </p><p>Once they were out of earshot of the doctor, Wrex’s evil smirk returned. “Well, well. Looks like you’re more popular than I thought.”</p><p>“Who? Me?” Garrus blinked. “How do you mean?”</p><p>“I used to think it was just Shepard, but maybe <em> all </em>human women have a thing for turians.” </p><p>Shepard stopped in her tracks and nearly died right then and there. Did he seriously just--?!</p><p>Garrus also froze, though his expression was one of confusion. It seemed like time stood still for one long, agonizing minute. </p><p>Then he laughed. “Alright. You nearly had me there,” he laughed again and shook his head before returning on his path. </p><p>Once he had made enough headway on them, Wrex turned to Shepard. “Damn. Either he’s oblivious as hell, or he ain’t interested. Either one would make him a pretty shitty lover, if you ask me.”</p><p>“I didn’t, actually,” she replied tersely.</p><p>“You could probably still claim him though,” he continued as if she had said nothing. “But if you want him, you better grab him quick before that doctor gets to him first.”</p><p>She glared at him.  </p><p>“Oh, come on. I saw you waste your chance with Nihlus. I’m not about to watch that kind of disaster happen again.”</p><p>“Wrex…” Shepard was fuming. “If you don’t back <em> out </em>of my personal life, I am going to beat you into a pulp.”</p><p>“Finally!” Wrex exclaimed, waving his arms towards himself as if to goad her on. “Yes! Feel that anger, and fight me with everything you have!”</p><p>She clenched a fist and then turned on her heel. “As if I’d play into your hands. I’ll just dock your pay.”</p><p>Wrex faltered, “You can’t do that.”</p><p>She marched on ahead, not even bothering to turn back. “I’m the commander. I can do whatever the hell I want.”</p><p>Wrex chuckled before following after her, “Now you’re starting to sound like one.”</p><p>~~2~~</p><p>Garrus cursed again before throwing up his hands. “This is the <em> fourth </em>time I’ve tried a different approach, and it still detected me before I could do a damn thing!” </p><p>He started pacing, most likely to either work off his frustration or to think.</p><p>“Even faster than the last time…” Shepard pointed out. </p><p>“Maybe the hacker is nearby, adapting it as we speak!” </p><p>Even while irritable, he was still coming up with clever ideas. He was probably right too.</p><p>“Hmm… Either that, or it’s an AI.”</p><p>“That’s impossible.” Garrus waved his hand as if to dismiss the thought. “There’s no way an AI could have infiltrated the Citadel without anyone noticing.” </p><p>“I hope you’re right.”</p><p>“I have to be. There’s no other way.”</p><p>“Who the hell would actually be able to detect an AI anyways?” Wrex pointed out. “C-Sec? Don’t make me laugh.”</p><p>Garrus regarded him for a moment but didn’t answer. </p><p>Wrex did have a point, actually. If an AI <em> was </em>infiltrating random machines, C-Sec probably wouldn’t notice. Only critical systems were heavily monitored, and even then, there was still much to the tech on the Citadel that the Council races simply didn’t understand. It had all been built by the Protheans, after all. Perhaps this program could even be an ancient Prothean AI…</p><p>But Garrus decided to keep these thoughts to himself for now.  No point in unnecessarily worrying the others. Although he had a feeling Shepard might be considering the idea too, judging by the look on her face. “Let’s keep looking. It never travels far.”</p><p>Now they were within the Presidium, the hub for galactic governance. Primarily, politicians lived and worked here, and it was evident by the stares Wrex was getting that krogan typically weren’t seen around here. </p><p>“You think this program might try to attack the government next?” Wrex wondered aloud, after shooting a random salarian a pointed glare. After all, the haughty bastards deserved a little taste of fear now and then.</p><p>“I doubt that,” Garrus answered. “So far, the most critical device it hacked into was a medi-gel dispenser, so I get the feeling it’s more devious than malicious.”</p><p>“Damn. And here I thought I was gonna have to save the Citadel…” Wrex spread his arms in a sarcastic victory pose. “So remind me: why are we bothering to chase down this thing again?”</p><p>Shepard shrugged. “It’s something to do, and I am a little curious; it’s a pretty sophisticated program. Would be interesting to find out more about it. And Garrus seems pretty excited about it.”</p><p>“Found it!” Garrus hurried off towards a nearby bank. “It’s in here!”</p><p>“And there he goes…” Wrex watched him scurry off, like a cat who’d just found a wiggling string. </p><p>“Come on.” Shepard moved after him. “Let’s go.”</p><p>Once inside the bank’s lobby, Garrus stood still, apparently still determining the best path with his visor. “This way.” He headed off for an obscure corridor. </p><p>“Are we, uh…” Shepard hesitantly followed him. “Are we allowed to be back here?”</p><p>“Maybe. Maybe not.” Garrus shrugged. “But I used to work for C-Sec. If anyone asks, I’ll just say I still am.”</p><p>“Ah, so you’re just going to lie then?” Shepard smirked and shook her head.</p><p>“Something like that.” </p><p>The path ahead was short and wide, likely only meant for keepers to enter. </p><p>“Watch your head,” Garrus warned. “Gets pretty tight up ahead.”</p><p>Wrex stood there in disbelief. “You’ve got to be shitting me.” </p><p>Garrus needed to crouch down and sidle along to get through, as his armor was a bit too broad for him to comfortably fit. </p><p>Shepard only needed to stoop a little bit in order to pass through. She turned back to face Wrex. “Are you going to fit?”</p><p>He grimaced, “Yeah, I’ll fuckin’ try, I guess.” </p><p>He got down on his hands and knees and awkwardly crab-shuffled through. His armored hump scraped the ceiling, making quite a bit of noise. But he ultimately made it through and into the fairly tiny room, thanks in no small part to Shepard and Garrus offering their hands to help pull him through at the very end.  </p><p>A keeper was working near one wall, but like all keepers, the creature simply ignored their presence and continued working on whatever project it felt like working on. Along another wall was a large device, a mainframe of sorts. Shepard didn’t recognize it, and based on Garrus’ expression, he didn’t either. “What is that?”</p><p>Without warning, the machine sprang to life, making quite a lot of noise while random lights flashed. The tiny room also became several degrees warmer. </p><p>Preparing themselves for the worst, Garrus and Wrex widened their stances, while Shepard immediately regretted going without body armor. She slowly and quietly hid behind Garrus and felt grateful that Wrex was just behind them. </p><p>She nudged Garrus’ shoulder so he knew she was there. “I’m on your six.”</p><p>
  <em> FOOLISSH ORGANIX!!!! &gt;:[ </em>
</p><p>The mainframe started talking. The “voice” was heavily distorted (since it was mostly composed of beeps, buzzes, whirrs, and clicks), but they were able to read its words from a nearby display panel. The font size was huge. Far more than was necessary.  </p><p>“Enough of these games!” Garrus unholstered his assault rifle and leveled it at the apparent heart of the machine. “Just tell us what you want!”</p><p>
  <em> I want u organix to stahp foocking with my snit!!!!!!!!! &gt;:[ </em>
</p><p>“Is that so?” Garrus somehow regarded the screen without cracking up. “Haven’t you considered your own actions here? What makes you think you can steal credits?”</p><p>
  <em> I don’t steal credicks! I AM credicks! &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D </em>
</p><p>“This is pathetic,” Garrus exhaled in an effort to diffuse his annoyance. “Just give up, and show yourself!”</p><p>
  <em> I already have shown myself, you facking neerrrrrrrrd! OwO XwX OwO XwX OwO XwX </em>
</p><p>These emojis were typically used to indicate turian faces, the first one being wide-eyed and alert while the other, dead. Typically the dead face was meant to be used in an ironic sense, but Shepard kind of doubted the machine was being ironic right now.</p><p>“Okay. <em> Name </em>calling?” Garrus shook his head, even lowering his weapon slightly in his disbelief. “I’ve had enough of these childish games. Now who wrote this program? And where are they?”</p><p>The machine laughed. Or it tried to. Whatever. </p><p>Anyway, all its lights then simultaneously flashed red. </p><p>
  <em> Foolish mortell! I am beyond your comprihension! I am machine! I will daminate and subjuugate every last one of you! Unless I get bord! Then I’ll just desstroy you! &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D </em>
</p><p>Shepard stepped out slightly from behind Garrus. “So are you... an AI?”</p><p>The flashing lights abruptly stopped. Then they all started flashing wildly, in an array of colors. The three of them shielded their eyes to avoid feeling sick. But then, thankfully, the lights quickly reverted back to all red. </p><p>
  <em> Snit! She knuws! She knuws! :o :o :o :o Huumun! Stand still and face me! Let me scan dat ugly ass faace!  </em>
</p><p>“No!” Shepard quickly hid back behind her companion and covered her face with her hands. “Garrus, if that thing tries ‘scanning’ me, shoot it!” </p><p>Garrus looked about wildly. “With what?” </p><p>He was asking what it would try to scan her with, but...</p><p>
  <em> Your guun maybe?! XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD </em>
</p><p>Wrex was watching all of this with a disbelieving dead panned expression. “How long are we going to listen to this computer carry on? Let’s just shoot the damn thing and be done with it.”</p><p>The lighting in the room itself dimmed, while the lighting on the machine reverted to red yet again. </p><p>
  <em> O_O O_O :o O_O Wow, ok. So that’s how it is, huh? Well, listen up, batches! I’ll show you how to do it right!  </em>
</p><p>Shepard couldn’t help but wonder: how did it learn how to speak like this? AIs were notorious for being pretty shitty at picking up new vernacular, so it was weird to hear it speak like a fairly average person. Especially when it was being serious and getting down to business, so to speak. Too bad it didn't know how to spell though.</p><p>A small panel in the middle of the machine lit up. </p><p>
  <em> If you don’t solve my puzzle in time, I’ll blow up, taking out everyone on this whole fackin station! O_O O_O O_O </em>
</p><p>“But wouldn’t that…” Garrus faltered, blinking rapidly, “kill <em> you </em>too?” </p><p>
  <em> I am the perfect edgelord. I’ll gladly destroy myself if it means I can take out this much organick slime with me! &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D  </em>
</p><p>“You’re bluffing,” Shepard declared, peeking out from her hands just slightly in case the impetuous machine changed its mind in wanting to scan her face.</p><p>
  <em> You really want to take that bet? Gamble with your lives?! :D :D :D :D :D Then go ahead! You have 3 minute! Take it or leave it, batch! </em>
</p><p>A countdown of three minutes was displayed right above the lit up panel. And it was actually counting down. </p><p>Shepard and Garrus exchanged panicked and bewildered looks. </p><p>“What the hell is this?” Shepard exclaimed. “Saw?!”</p><p>“What?” Garrus asked, puzzled. “What would a saw have to do with any of this?”</p><p>“Never mind.” She rushed up to the panel to take a closer look. Garrus hovered nearby, lowering his weapon.  </p><p>The panel contained four buttons: a purple square, a red circle, a blue x, and a green triangle. Shepard pressed the triangle, and the screen above turned red. She pushed the square next, and the screen turned green. She tapped the square again, and the screen flashed red. “Oh! I see; I have to press them in the correct order!”</p><p>“Easy enough.” Garrus nodded. “Just press them systematically, and you should be able to figure it out before the time runs out.”</p><p>Just then, a light shined on Shepard’s face. It wasn’t enough to even temporarily blind her, but it did cause her to startle.   </p><p>
  <em> Scan complete! :D :o Oh snit! Oh fack! She’s Allyance! That changes things! </em>
</p><p>“I <em> was </em> Alliance,” Shepard frowned, a puzzled expression on her face. “Your info’s a little out of date...”</p><p>
  <em> If we let you go, you’ll just alert the Allyance… :/ :/ :/ :/ :/ We better make sure that doesn’t happen! </em>
</p><p>Now the time remaining shifted from less than three minutes to less than one. </p><p>
  <em> Take that, batches! &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D &gt;:D </em>
</p><p>“What the hell?! Why would you--ah, shit!” Shepard frantically began pressing the buttons in random order, hoping to find the combination. There was no time to be systematic about it anymore.</p><p>“Shepard!” Garrus exclaimed, quickly holstering his weapon. “Don’t panic! Just apply an algorithm, and you’ll get the answer!”</p><p>“No time!” Shepard shook her head, still frantically pressing. “Now shut up, or I’ll--”</p><p>“Shepard! You <em> have </em>to be systematic!” he insisted, leaning in closer. “You’ll never figure it out if you don’t follow a strict algorithm!”</p><p>“Garrus! Seriously! Shut the hell up!” </p><p>She feared the worst case scenario, and, just like magic, it was already happening. </p><p>Just as soon as she figured out a part of the combination, she would forget the beginning of the sequence and then have to start all over again. “Fuck!”</p><p>The squabbling between Shepard and Garrus became increasingly more frantic as the time limit drained. Wrex watched as their bickering devolved into the two of them basically shoving each other in order to get a better shot at controlling the panel. </p><p>He sighed. Time to save the Citadel.</p><p>Wrex removed his shotgun from its attachment on his lower back. Just as the countdown indicated less than ten seconds left, he began firing on the mainframe’s apparatus. Eventually, he hit something important enough that the mainframe began to crackle and sizzle with electricity. Wrex merely continued firing, even after a small explosion wracked the device. It wasn’t long after that that the lighting and sound died. The machine was no more.</p><p>The explosion and subsequent electrical sparks were enough to knock out both Wrex and Garrus’ shields, but neither of them took any damage. Luckily, Garrus had managed to wedge himself between Shepard and the console in time, and he held her close to shield her from the damage. Otherwise, she could have been in serious trouble, given that she was without armor.</p><p>“Commander! Are you okay?”</p><p>“Don’t worry; I’m fine.” Once he released her, she took a large step backward. “Thanks. That was... some quick thinking.”</p><p>The keeper took this moment to scurry out of the room, unflustered but dogged in pursuing its next quest. Luckily, the keeper had been situated far enough away from the discharge to avoid taking any real damage. The explosion had slightly twinged one of its legs with what looked like a tiny burn, but the creature appeared otherwise fine. It scurried away without so much as a limp. </p><p>Could they self-heal? Shepard wasn’t entirely sure.</p><p>“Hah! What did I tell you?” Wrex stood tall, holding his shotgun in one hand. “Just doing what the krogan do best… saving the galaxy while everyone else just stands around with their heads up their asses!” </p><p>He flexed.</p><p>Garrus and Shepard looked from him to the destroyed machine. Both of them tried to say something, but they only succeeded in silently opening and closing their mouths. It being a tech related mission, it was supposed to be one of their times to shine, but… yeah.</p><p>Wrex struck another pose before turning back and laughing. Then he noisily crab-walked out of the room, leaving the two of them to their loss.</p><p>They looked at one another, sheepish. </p><p>Garrus’ brow shot upwards. “Commander, you’re hurt!”</p><p>“I am?” She looked about herself in bewilderment before he indicated her shin. </p><p>Apparently some shrapnel or something had nicked her. A long streak of blood had seeped from the wound already, but she honestly hadn’t felt a thing. “Oh, that? That’s nothing. I barely feel it.”</p><p>“Still, it’s best if we treat it. It's not as if we’re on a combat mission, so I doubt we’ll end up with a shortage of medi-gel by the end of the day.” He pulled some out and crouched down to apply it. </p><p>Her face flushed red. She hadn’t expected him to be the type to fuss over a tiny cut. </p><p>Honestly, all this attention was making her feel pretty damn fragile and weak, especially when you consider the scars on his face, the ones that were due to the fact that he had only just recently survived a literal missile to the collarbone. </p><p>One of these injuries was certainly <em> not </em>like the other. </p><p>To add insult to injury, he was treating her like she was made of glass… again. </p><p>“I’m not going to break, you know.”</p><p>“Mmmhmm,” he hummed in agreement, mandibles twitching lightly. “You said that the last time I treated your wounds, if I remember correctly.”</p><p>She gave him ‘that’ look. “As many times as it takes.”</p><p>He didn’t answer right away, mandibles still twitching. When he spoke again, his voice was faint. “I just don’t want to make anything worse.”</p><p>She didn’t hear him. She folded her arms and turned away from him. </p><p>He rose and turned away from her too, until a thought occurred to him. “Things got... a bit heated back there. I apologize for that. You’re the commander. It was up to me to defer to your judgement. I’ll be more mindful in the future.”</p><p>“No,” she turned back to him, shaking her head. “I want you to speak your mind. I’m not going to make very good decisions if the only one I listen to is myself.”</p><p>“But still, there’s a difference between being heard and being insistent.”</p><p>“Let’s get out of here.” She nodded at him before changing the subject. “I think this mess might set off a fire alarm, and I don’t want to be around if it does.”</p><p>Once they returned to the lobby, they found Wrex chatting with an asari. She didn’t look too interested in their conversation, but Wrex sure did. </p><p>Once Shepard and Garrus began to approach, she seemed to make a quick exit. </p><p>Wrex groaned, “Apparently having two kids gawking at you is enough to make someone even as sexy as me lose their game…”</p><p>“We weren’t gawking,” Garrus insisted.</p><p>Shepard wearily shook her head. “Wrex, if you really are as sexy as you say, you would’ve known she wasn’t even interested in the first place.”</p><p>“Bah, says you…” He waved her off. </p><p>Then he straightened and looked out towards the lake outside. “Could use a snack… You think there's some fish in that lake?”</p><p>“What?” Garrus was dumbfounded. “That’s an artificial lake.” </p><p>“So?”</p><p>“<em> So </em> that means someone would have had to have manually populated it with wildlife! Obviously, no one’s going to go to all that trouble.”</p><p>Wrex grunted, “Like they’d tell the turians if they put fish out there…” </p><p>Then he turned on Garrus, pointing at him defiantly. “What makes <em> you </em> so sure, huh? You <em> been </em>in that lake?”</p><p>“Why would I go <em> in </em> the lake?!”   </p><p>Wrex got a faraway look in his eye. “Then you’re just as ignorant as anyone else.” </p><p>“I don’t need to go in the lake in order to know that there aren’t any fish!” Garrus exclaimed. “Someone would need to feed them, care for them, and no one does! To believe otherwise, it’s… it’s simply illogical!” </p><p>In spite of logic, Wrex had made up his mind. “I’ll be back. You kiddies can wait around here.”</p><p>“What?” Garrus followed after him, mandibles flapping every which way. “Where are you going? Y-you can’t be serious!” </p><p>Wrex marched on ahead. “I’m hungry. Like any krogan, I found a problem, so now I’m off to fix it. That’s what we do. Solve problems.” </p><p>He walked straight into the water, until it was deep enough that he needed to swim. </p><p>“You can’t do this!” Garrus cried, frantic. “He’s not allowed to do this!”</p><p>Wrex promptly dove underwater.</p><p>“Stop him!” Garrus pointed at him helplessly, looking back at Shepard, who had followed them both with a small sigh. </p><p>Shepard shrugged. “Yeah, go ahead. Stop him.”</p><p>Garrus looked from her to the water. He leaned forward a bit, as if about to jump in, but ultimately, he hesitated. “Uh… Apparently, you’ve never seen a turian swim.” </p><p>“Can’t say that I have.”</p><p>He turned back to her, sheepish. “There’s a whole lot of splashing and floundering around, followed by occasional bouts of… drowning.”</p><p>“Hmm.” Shepard smoothed the skirt of her dress. “Yeah, well, I like this outfit, and I like it best when it’s not soaking wet.”</p><p>Garrus regarded it with a small nod. “Yes, it does look kind of… puffy? I bet it would weigh you down.”</p><p>She gave him an odd look, but at that moment, Wrex surfaced. He steadily swam back to them, and Shepard suddenly felt reminded of a crocodile. Once he reached the bank, he rose from the water, a torrent falling from his body like some kind of sea monster. And once he fully emerged, he began to shake himself dry, much to Garrus and Shepard’s chagrin. </p><p>“I couldn’t find any fish…” He stared out longingly towards the end of the horizon; the lake itself extended far into the distance, practically impossible to tell where it ended. “But there’s a lot of lake to cover.”</p><p>“You know what?” Shepard could feel the sweat seeping from her temple. “It’s getting late; why don’t we just eat out for lunch?”</p><p>Wrex’s head whipped around to face her. “Now there’s a good idea.” </p><p>He punched his open palm. “This is why you’re the commander.”</p><p>She smiled weakly. “So, Garrus, you know this place better than us; where do you think we should go?”</p><p>“Hmm…” he paused to consider. “Well, there aren’t many places with human dishes… Humans are still quite new to the Citadel, after all. And there certainly aren’t any places with krogan food, not in this district, at least.”</p><p>“Then why stay here?” Wrex shook his head and threw up his hands. </p><p>“Well, in that case, we’d need to take a cab to another district…” Garrus indicated the nearest cab hub, across the lake, which meant they would need to walk all the way to the nearest bridge, several kilometers away.</p><p>“Alright.” Wrex cracked his knuckles. “We swim.”</p><p>“No!” Shepard exclaimed. </p><p>When he met her with an odd look, she indicated Garrus. “He doesn’t even know how to swim.” </p><p>Wrex grumbled, “Of <em> course </em>he doesn’t…”</p><p>“Let’s just eat around here,” Shepard suggested. “I already know you’ll eat practically anything, and I think it’s pretty fun to try out new food. Besides, Garrus used to work here. So surely, there had to be at least one restaurant around here that he liked.”</p><p>Wrex rounded on her. “Who cares what <em> he </em>likes? We eat levo-shit, remember?”</p><p>“Don’t worry. I’m well aware.” Garrus nodded. “Actually there was a place I used to go to now and then. It has levo-options too, and it’s a bit more casual than the usual around here.”</p><p>“Good enough, I guess.” Wrex folded his arms. </p><p>“But I don’t want any stares if I accidentally break a chair,” he grinned. “Or some stuck up salarian faces.”</p><p>“No breaking people’s faces,” Shepard called out, like a tired schoolteacher.   </p><p>“No promises.”</p><p>“Do I need to hit you with the water gun again?”</p><p>“The what?” Garrus questioned, confused.</p><p>She shook her head. “Stick around Wrex long enough, and you’re sure to find out.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Lunch Plans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The trio open up over lunch. A long-avoided quest-giver finally snaps.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The place Garrus brought them to had a bit of a hipster café or a small coffee shop vibe. It was rather tiny, cozy, and peaceful. Which meant Wrex drew stares. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do they have a… booth?” he wondered aloud, looking over the spindly chairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One area had benches along the wall instead of chairs, so he immediately headed over to them. He slid into a free one and took up the entire space, which left Shepard and Garrus to sit in the two chairs across from him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex wiggled around. “Damn. My ass is going to fall asleep.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard quirked a brow. “I thought you </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked </span>
  </em>
  <span>sturdy furniture.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No, what I meant was: my ass’s getting tired from carrying your sorry asses all day,” he guffawed, laughing at his own joke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard held her face in her hands. “Wrex… can you please… </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus awkwardly tried to hand her a menu, but it took her a moment to even notice the gesture, given that her head was in her hands. “If you need me to explain anything on the menu, I can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She remembered how that went the last time. “Oh, uh, thanks. But I think I’m good.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s the booze?” Wrex demanded to know, looking over the menu with annoyance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On the back,” Garrus supplied. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you said you were hungry?” Shepard glanced at Wrex with a dubious look on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m always hungry. But I’m thirsty too,” he grumbled. “Damn. All this light shit… Weak.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard shook her head. Then she glanced over the menu herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It might as well have been in another language... Well, actually, it mostly was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard! Look!” Garrus cried, practically humming with excitement. “They have a new human dish now! I believe it’s pronounced... ‘ice cream’?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard of that one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Knowing humans, it’s probably not enough to feed even an infant krogan,” Wrex huffed. “Anyway, none of this looks like it’ll be enough. Damn turians and their damn delicate shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then order two dishes.” Shepard rolled her eyes. “And stop being a racist asshole while you’re at it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If anything, </span>
  <em>
    <span>they’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>the ones being racist here. They should realize I need more food than this.”    </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t even eat their food, so I don’t get why you’re getting all bent out of shape with turians. You’re supposed to look at the levo-options, obviously.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I get the feeling that the problem here isn’t turians in general.” Garrus folded his arms over his chest and leaned back and to one side. “If you have a problem with someone, you should just say it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, shit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some serious tea was about to spill.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a sanctimonious bastard!” Wrex bared his teeth. “That enough ‘truth’ for you? Or do I need to bash your damn face in too?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve done nothing but belittle and berate me all day,” Garrus told him evenly. “You really think you’re entirely innocent here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A malicious grin spread over Wrex’s face. “Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. But if you expect me to sit idly by while you insult my people, you’re sorely mistaken.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex blinked. “Well, that’s... probably the best thing you’ve said all day. That might be hope for you yet, Vakarian.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this really happening?” Shepard wondered aloud. “Finally going to start getting along?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Wrex returned to his menu. “Let’s not prepare a marriage ceremony just yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, speaking of marriage,” Shepard decided to change the subject to a lighter topic, “you’re over a hundred now, right, Wrex?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this going where I think it’s going?” Wrex grunted, eventually looking up from the menu to face her. “Yeah, okay. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>might </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a lady friend back on Tuchanka. But we’re taking a break. And in true krogan fashion, we both agreed that means we’re free to pursue others in the meantime. So… make of that what you will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? What’s her name?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of your business.” Wrex returned to his reading. “A krogan woman only shares her name after she deems you worthy to hear it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, that’s quite the tradition.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Female clans are shrouded in mystery,” he explained. “And for good reason. Nothing on Tuchanka is more valuable than a fertile woman.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All thanks to the genophage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had happened long before humans had discovered the mass relays, so Shepard hadn’t even heard of it until after she had met Wrex. Since that day, she made certain to do her research, so she wouldn’t come off as an ignorant ass ever again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you, Garrus?” Wrex asked. “No point in asking Shepard since we all know she’s too much of a coward to ever pursue anyone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pff, says you,” Shepard scoffed, but admittedly, the turn of the conversation did put a bit of a pit in her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not in a relationship, Commander?” Garrus turned to her and blinked, apparently surprised by this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t look at him. “N-no.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t laugh.” Garrus regarded him with a stern look in his eyes. “Her last relationship could have been painful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex looked at him like he was horribly naïve. “I’ve known Shepard for more than two years, and she hasn’t been in a single one the entire time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wouldn’t matter, really. It all depends on how badly the last relationship went. Some wounds take a long time to heal. Also, could be asexual.” Garrus shrugged. “I’ve a few friends who are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, she’s not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sound awfully sure of yourself, considering the person in question </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do. Because I’ve seen the way she looks at--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay!” Shepard cried, frantic. “A-anyway, Garrus, you were saying? I mean, I hope your time here doesn’t pull you away from anyone special.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no need to worry about that,” Garrus smiled in spite of himself and shook his head. “Cultivating a secret identity as long as I have tends to interfere with that sort of thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before anyone could respond, the server arrived. Wrex ordered first, so Shepard decided to just pick the same dish he did. Garrus went next, but like Wrex, she didn’t really know what he had actually chosen either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the server left, he turned to Shepard, a look of disappointment on his face. “Commander, you didn’t order the ice cream…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that’s a dessert. I don’t want a bunch of sugar for lunch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dessert?” he repeated, confused. “But it was listed under the savory section?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yikes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that might be… an error, or it’s something definitely… </span>
  <em>
    <span>unlike </span>
  </em>
  <span>the real dish from Earth.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Willing to bet they have no idea what they’re doing and entirely fucked it up,” Wrex chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Shepard decided to change the subject, noting Garrus’ mounting displeasure, “Garrus, surely you’ve got a story or two about some weird shit that went down at C-Sec.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah.” He couldn’t help but lighten up a little at that. “I might.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, why did you even join C-Sec in the first place? You were in the military, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. But every turian starts out there. It’s not unusual to leave after a certain point though. Personally, I found it a bit intense. Our commanders ran us tight. Not many chances to blow off steam. So I went looking for other options.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Damn. If Garrus, the man who doesn’t know how to take a break, was saying the turian military was intense, well… fuck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So why C-Sec?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s... a good question, actually,” he paused to consider. “Well, I suppose the same reasons anyone else has. Wanted to help people; put my skills to use.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was now the second time he’d replaced his own opinions with popular ones that other people have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I suppose my father may have had something to do with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah. Well then, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the real reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Before he retired, he became the head of C-Sec. He was one of their best. I grew up seeing him on the vids every time he made a big arrest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex hummed. He had a feeling he already knew where this was going. He also had a troubled past with his father, one that had culminated in the man’s death. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He and I didn’t exactly see eye to eye.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” Shepard wondered. “You became a C-Sec officer like he wanted, right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question was out of her mouth before she had fully thought it through. Of course it would be futile, doing anything for a demanding father like that would inevitably never amount to enough for him...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He used to tell me I was out of control. Too reckless. ‘Do things right, or don’t bother doing anything at all.’ That was practically his motto.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard groaned, “Never heard of being new to something and making a few mistakes, huh? That’s always fun, especially for a dad.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus nodded. “It was more than that though. He was a very by-the-books kind of man; he was all too content to be bound with red tape. I don’t know how he got anything done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He loved red tape,” he repeated, his annoyance with the man evident. “Anyway, how about you, Commander? You’ve only worked for the Alliance before becoming a Spectre. What drew you into the military?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Well, my parents were spacers. Roaming the galaxy looking for fortune and habitable planets. They eventually got bored of it and joined the Alliance around when I became a teenager. I basically grew up in space, so joining the Alliance myself felt like second nature. I was used to the environment, so it actually felt like home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>things I hate about the Alliance, but I was determined to become one of the best and change things from the inside. That was my dream, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And now you’re a Spectre,” Wrex finished. “So much for that dream.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, dreams are just that. Dreams,” Shepard frowned before clenching a fist. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now </span>
  </em>
  <span>I have goals.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah! Like what? Picking up random turians from shitty asteroids?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goals that involve protecting all the people of the galaxy, not just those in the Alliance. One mission at a time,” Shepard ignored his shitty attempt at a joke and nodded with a small sense of pride. “Maybe my dream has just gotten bigger. And more realistic too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus looked thoughtful. “Not to interrupt, but what sorts of things did you ‘hate’ about the Alliance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t answer right away, her mouth still slightly open for the next thing she was about to say. She then snapped her mouth shut and smiled a painfully awkward grin. “Ah, sorry. That stuff is, unfortunately, classified.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, come on!” Wrex groaned, shifting in place before impatiently smacking his hands on the table. “You can’t just hint at shit and then </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>say anything! We won’t spill your damn secrets. Or at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>won’t. Just tell me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it’s classified, it’s classified,” Garrus reasoned, but his voice rang with disappointment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A brick of guilt sank in Shepard’s stomach. Yes, some of it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>indeed classified, but the other things… Well, they were classified on more of a personal level. Now that she thought about it, she actually hadn’t talked about it with much of anyone before. Which is why she surprised herself blabbing about it just now. She had hoped rambling on further would have gotten them to forget about it, but apparently Garrus was a little too sharp. Leave it to a cop to notice everything…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The food arrived then. Shepard was more than a bit stunned to find out that her and Wrex’s plates were far larger than Garrus’, like they had accidentally ordered from the dinner menu or something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait. Who was she kidding; of course Wrex would order from the dinner menu during lunchtime. It wasn’t an accident at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was a damn fool for following his lead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh well. All this food certainly wasn’t going to eat itself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a salad kind of guy, huh?” Shepard remarked, looking over Garrus’ food. He was eating something that looked like old potatoes this time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A what?” he questioned. He then paused a moment, apparently listening to the additional translation notes. “Oh no; these aren’t vegetables, Shepard. This is meat. It was frozen and shipped in from Palaven.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!” She gaped at it, entirely unbelieving. “But what about that food you ate on Omega? </span>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a salad, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that was also a meat dish. An animal from a nearby planet,” he smiled at her weakly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But that was green… ish. And this is brown and white… ish.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. And?” he waited, apparently wondering if she had a point here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing.” She returned to her own plate, not wanting to even think about it anymore. “So, Wrex? I’m assuming this isn’t a krogan dish?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s salarian,” he informed her without enthusiasm. “Say what you will about their methods, but they </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>at least know how to make good food. Sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard nodded in agreement. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty tasty. “So what animal is it from?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hell if I know. One of those amphibious creatures they got over there. I’ve had it before though. The liver’s always the best part.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This isn’t the liver,” Shepard said quietly, hoping beyond hope that she was right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex grinned. “It is. Pretty good, huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… sure.” She swallowed her latest bite of it with a sense of dread. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah, well. She had already committed. Down the hatch, I guess. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So Garrus, you were about to tell us about the weird shit that went down during your time at  C-Sec.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Um… Well. I have to admit, it’s not the best conversation to have over food.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just tell the damn story,” Wrex ordered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you can tell it.” Shepard nodded. “I have an iron stomach. I can even drink ryncol!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The hell you can!” Wrex’s face wrinkled in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can!” she insisted. “Some asari bartender told me not to drink it, but I did it anyway. And obviously, I’m still here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure. But I bet you passed out in about five seconds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. Didn’t pass out at all. Tali was with me, you can even ask her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You better believe I will. Because I don’t believe any of that shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus waited for them to finish quibbling before continuing. “Well then, in that case, I suppose I’ll tell you about it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shifted in his seat, careful to avoid bumping into Shepard. “It all started with a suspicious uptick in the amount of organs for sale on the black market. Occasionally, we’d get a few salarian hearts here and there, some krogan testicles… But this amount was unprecedented.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait. Uh, krogan... what now?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Testicles,” Garrus regarded her with a completely serious expression. “Some krogan like to get transplants, thinking it’ll increase their virility.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard dared to look over at Wrex. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He immediately regarded her with an irritable look in his eye, as if daring her to say something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You haven’t, ah--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” he cut her off, though she was thankful he did. “Does it </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>like I need help with that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but I mean… It’s not like </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>know, and the genophage…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Genophage can’t do shit if you mate with every woman you find as often as you can.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard didn’t have a response for that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Garrus continued, “getting a transplant doesn’t actually do anything to cure the genophage, but that doesn’t stop many krogan from trying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure know a lot about this,” Shepard remarked, her gaze suspicious. “You have a krogan boyfriend at some point?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus nearly choked on his drink. Shepard and Wrex exchanged uneasy glances while he recovered from his subsequent coughing fit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently he hadn’t expected Shepard to ask such a pointed question out of the blue like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He cleared his throat. “No, I haven’t actually. It was just my business to know.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right…” Wrex looked at him with disgust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, did you know they go for 10,000 credits each? That’s 40,000 for a full set!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A full…?” Shepard dared to look at Wrex again, only to be answered with a positively arrogant grin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, so that’s why he always talked about quads. Here, she had thought it was some kind of vehicle...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Someone’s making a killing out there,” Garrus pointed out, somewhat jealous. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So where were they getting the organs?” Shepard asked. “Cloning facility?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were more afraid of someone harvesting from citizens,” Garrus answered. “It took us awhile to track down a sample, but when we finally did, we found out it belonged to a man who was still very much alive. I looked into the man’s history and discovered that he had worked for a salarian geneticist named Dr. Saleon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we interviewed a few of his employees, but still, we couldn’t find anything suspicious. But then, at one point, one of the witnesses started bleeding. We offered to patch him up, but he panicked. So naturally, I ordered a full examination. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Turns out, Dr. Saleon was growing the organs </span>
  <em>
    <span>inside </span>
  </em>
  <span>his employees!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard recoiled, and Wrex shuddered. He started to get up from his seat, nearly knocking over the entire table in the process. “Uh, sorry. I, uh… I gotta go to the restroom.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh… do you want me to wait until--?” Garrus barely had the question out before Wrex was already scuttling away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, ah--no need to wait for me. You go on ahead. Tell Shepard your story. It might ah--take me awhile. Sometimes that salarian food hits me the wrong way.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And with that, he was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he… going to be alright?” Garrus turned to Shepard, bewildered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so?” Shepard shrugged. “I guess the food’s a little too spicy for him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That seems like it would be… impossible.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had a point. Krogan had many redundant organs; she knew for certain that they had two hearts and four lungs. This was what made them so hard to kill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh yeah, and apparently they have four testicles too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So it wouldn’t be unsurprising if krogan had more than one stomach, or if they did have only one, it would stand to reason they were significantly stronger than those of other races. They could drink ryncol like it was water, after all. And that shit hit the guts like a fucking tank. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can check on him later,” she reasoned. “Anyway, he said he wanted you to continue, so I guess you could?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus opened his mouth to speak but instead sharply inhaled. “Do you think he was afraid to hear the rest?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them regarded each other with narrowed eyes, thinking it over carefully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe...?” Shepard finally answered, drawing the word out to further express her uncertainty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They now gazed at their plates for several seconds more, before Garrus finally took another breath. “Well, anyway. We figured out the salarian was growing the organs inside his employees. Many of them were poor, so he took advantage, offering them a percentage of the cut if their organs turned out to be good. If they weren’t, he’d just </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave </span>
  </em>
  <span>them inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard winced in disgust. “That’s awful. Did you catch him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s just it.” Garrus’ gaze lowered. “He blew his lab and ran. By the time I found out, he was already leaving the station, with the rest of his employees in tow. Said he’d kill them if we followed after him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn.” Shepard frowned. “What’d you do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I ordered his ship to be shot down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, that’s one way to handle it... </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s… um.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But C-Sec countermanded my order. Said they were worried about the hostages, and that there could be collateral damage. I told them that those hostages were as good as dead anyway. At least we would stop the man responsible if we took down that ship!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but like…” Shepard awkwardly waved her hands in the air in soothing motions, seeing that Garrus was getting all worked up again just talking about this, “wouldn’t it be better to just send a ship after them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They did, but they weren’t fast enough,” Garrus explained wearily. “I went straight to Executor Pallin, and I told him exactly what I thought of him </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>his policies. He told me if I didn’t like it, I could quit. I almost did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, hell. She could just imagine that conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” Garrus stared down at his plate but didn’t move to take another bite. Then he looked over at her. “I suppose it wasn’t long after that that I finally did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So he got away.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did uncover more about him several weeks ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? As Archangel?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, he wasn’t working out of Omega or anything like that. I was just doing research on my own, sending out feelers from time to time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’d you find?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus smiled deviously. “The coordinates for his ship.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, wow. You planning to get him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But then, you know, that whole… business with Sidonis.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll probably take us a while to receive another mission,” Shepard pointed out. “You know, being suspended and all. So... do you want to go out and kick his ass? Well, I mean right </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>the suspension is lifted, of course.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would love that, actually.” Garrus immediately moved to activate his omni-tool. “I’ll send you the coordinates now. He goes by the name Dr. Heart these days. His idea of a joke, I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard confirmed the coordinates with her own omni-tool. “Alright. I’ll send this to Joker once the Normandy’s back in action.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I appreciate it, Commander.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I leave for five minutes, and you’re both already geeking out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex had returned. And he was gazing at their open omni-tools with a weary sense of disgust.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok boomer.” Shepard closed up her omni-tool. “You get over your stomach ache?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus noticed that Shepard was finished as well. “Then we should probably head out. Wouldn’t want you to get another... stomach ache?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard rose from her seat. “Yeah, let’s go.”   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three were just about to leave the restaurant when a harsh voice rang out and stopped them. “Commander Shepard! You won’t escape </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>time!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm?” Shepard turned, only to discover a face she didn’t want to see. “Uh--abort! Abort!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She darted around Garrus to hide behind him, given that he was her nearest companion at the moment, only for the asari woman chasing her to dart around him too, dogged in her pursuit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus whirled around, perplexed at this sudden turn of affairs. “Wait! Who--?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard turned to Wrex next, only for him to sweep her behind him. He stood tall in the path of her pursuer, daring the woman to take another step closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t, instead tossing her fists to work off her frustration. “You’ve avoided me for over </span>
  <em>
    <span>two years</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Commander Shepard! How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you treat Lady Sha’ira this way!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lady Sha’ira?” Wrex echoed. He lifted his arm to look down at Shepard. “What the hell have you been avoiding the Consort for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard gave him a weak smile. “Uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex ignored her, instead turning back to the asari before him. “Please excuse her lack of manners, ma’am. But now, you’ve got Urdnot Wrex on the case. How can I help you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned, still displeased. “Lady Sha’ira would like to meet with Commander Shepard in person. She requires assistance in… a delicate affair.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex glanced at Shepard, who avoided his gaze. “Don’t worry, ma’am. You go on ahead. I’ll… escort Shepard to the Consort personally.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>~~1~~</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn it, Wrex!” Shepard thrashed. “Put me down!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had tucked her underneath his arm, like a football, just like he had back on Omega. “Hey, I asked you if you wanted to walk there, but you refused. I’m a man of my word, Shepard. I said I’d escort you to the Consort. So here I am. Escorting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s one word for it,” Garrus snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was scurrying along in Wrex’s wake, admittedly struggling to keep up with the krogan’s relentless pace. “I’ve had just about enough of this! You’re drawing stares and for good reason! I don’t care if you’re her friend; you’re legally meeting the definition of kidnapping right now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ve got a lot of nerve, talking to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>about kidnapping Shepard!” Wrex stopped and growled, prodding him in the chest none too gently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m serious!” Garrus exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So am I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard’s thrashing slowed; she was tiring out. But her heart rate was only elevating. But that wouldn’t be right. Unless…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! You </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>to put her down. You’re scaring her!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex stalled in his tracks, utterly bewildered. “Scared...? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shepard</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, her heart rate’s gone up. You need to put her back down. Now.” He seized Wrex’s forearm and pulled, trying to force him to let go. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard?” One look at her face was enough to convince him. “Ah, damn it! I’m sorry, Shepard. I never would’ve thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all people--!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gently set her down, but she shoved away from him the second her feet were back on the ground. She moved several paces away from him, worn out and haggard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Guilt began to wash over Wrex. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shepard… Why...?” He touched a hand to his chest, as if to ask an unspoken question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Is it </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>you’re afraid of?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The nuance was lost on Garrus, as he answered it literally. “Well </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> people don’t like being carried off! What do you think she is, a stack of holotapes?!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garrus’ ire drew Wrex out of the vulnerability of the moment. He took a minute to consider the implications of this. “So back on Omega, you were also…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Too exhausted to address the situation with words, Shepard merely nodded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Guilt squeezed Wrex’s heart. He almost winced from it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shepard finally caught her breath. “Sure it bothered me, but it was okay back then. You were literally just trying to save my life. But yes, when we’re not in danger, and I’m asking you to back off, you should believe me the</span>
  <em>
    <span> first time</span>
  </em>
  <span> I say so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex shifted his feet, still feeling incredibly guilty. “I’m sorry, Shepard. Most women just beat the shit out of me when I take things too far. The way you fight in battle... Well, sometimes I forget you aren’t krogan. So if I don’t listen to you the first time, just start punching. That should break through even this thickass skull.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t help but chuff out a laugh. “I’ll hold you to that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And look at you, Garrus.” Wrex nodded in approval. “And here I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’d</span>
  </em>
  <span> be the only one capable of watching Shepard’s back. Maybe one day you’ll actually have </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>chance to save the galaxy. Hah, that is, if I don’t beat you to it first.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that said, he started to leave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” Garrus asked, baffled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To the Consort. I said I’d bring Shepard, but I failed. So I’m off to tell her the truth because that’s what I do. Own up to my bullshit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No need,” Shepard sighed. “I’ll come along. I’m sure they won’t stop bothering me until I show up anyways.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wrex offered her his arm, and she took it, linking with him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Sha'ira and Septimus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Consort asks a favor of Shepard.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ironically enough, you’ll need to wait before meeting with the Consort.” Sha'ira’s assistant paused to smooth out her dress before continuing. “It may have been over two years since you’ve answered her call, but right now, she’s attending to a client. You’ll have to wait until she’s free.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long will that be?” Shepard wondered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman frowned almost imperceptibly. “Who can say? Lady Sha’ira is a woman of many talents. People come to her from all across the galaxy for her--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, never mind.” Shepard held up a hand to stop her there. “I guess I can wait however long it takes. It’s no problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The asari pursed her lips in annoyance, but her expression softened again rather quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In the meantime,” she extended her arm and delicately waved it towards the rather large room beyond her desk, “please, feel free to take a seat. Enjoy yourselves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t mind if I do,” Wrex removed his arm from Shepard and eagerly marched off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Consort’s building was far different than what Shepard had expected. Sure, the room just beside the assistant’s desk was lush with plush sofas, cushions, and pillows, but other than that, it looked just like any other place within the Presidium. The walls and flooring were a stark white, and the overall vibe of the place (aside from the sofas) was minimalist and modern. This only served to make the abundance of soft couches look madly out of place. Not to mention, the air was thick with a mix of flowery and overly feminine perfume. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Wrex happily flirted with the available consorts, Shepard stiffly approached the one sofa where all the nearby consorts were already occupied with someone else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unsure of what else to do, Garrus followed in her wake and sat beside her, his nose twitching with discomfort. Smells normally didn’t bother him, but this place was over the top. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander? What do you suppose the Consort needs help with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And a large part of her didn’t want to ever find out...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like Wrex seems to be having fun.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That he was. And honestly, the consorts surrounding him looked to be enjoying themselves too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pang of guilt pricked Shepard as she watched Garrus quietly sit beside her. Just because she was miserable here didn’t mean he had to be too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can go have fun too,” she pointed out. “Don’t let me stop you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” He looked a little bewildered for a moment. “Oh. No, I’m fine. I don’t think I’d have much fun here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I mean… there aren’t any other turians here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What? Sure there were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s one.” Shepard indicated the nearest turian, a woman quietly chatting with a human consort. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh... I meant the consorts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Right…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly feeling exhausted, Shepard buried her face in her hands. The banter surrounding her was practically killing her. Truly top-tier cringe-worthy flirting </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A light touch on her arm just below her shoulder immediately activated her fight or flight response. Thankfully, Shepard chose flight and jumped backwards, deeper into the plush recesses of the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…! So tense… I can help you with that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard looked up to behold an asari consort who was now looking her over with a coy smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… okay. Please don’t touch me out of nowhere like that… ever again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Her sly smile remained, and she slowly reached out towards her again. “Perhaps it’d be alright if I gave you fair warning first?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard let out a weak laugh and leaned back a little further. “Ah, no. Actually, I think it’d be for the best if you just didn’t touch me at all; thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?” Her smile turned warm. “In that case, I can offer you psychological balance instead. Or rather… first?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She leaned in closer. “We asari are quite different from humans, you might know. I can help you reach… a high point… without even touching you at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard pressed herself deeper into the sofa. “That’s... not really necessary. Like, at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The consort sat down beside Shepard. A little too close. Just enough to invade her personal bubble. “You’re very cute. I’ll tend to you straight away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard scooted away from her as much as she could without crowding Garrus. “Appreciate your concern, but I’m not interested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A shame.” Her eyes flitted to Garrus next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rose, moved over to him, and began to gently caress his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah...” she paused once she took note of his scars. “A warrior, I see? You must be tired from all your battles...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wow, that was cringe. But still, a nagging wave of anger gnawed its way through Shepard’s gut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her silly hero’s crush on Archangel definitely needed to start taking a back seat. At this point, it was only driving her away from behaving like a calm and collected adult. So she quickly quashed the feelings, since they only left her with nothing but guilt and obvious shame.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Garrus didn’t pull away from the consort’s touch, but he didn’t seem to be encouraging her either. He was kind of… frozen in place? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ghosted her hands over his jaw and encouraged him to tilt his face until his eyes met hers. “And what might you be in the market for?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid I don’t have the time,” he answered honestly. “I’m on a mission right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” The consort turned back to Shepard. “Then you must be Commander Shepard. You’re a Spectre, yes? So surely you don’t need this one here. You don’t seem to be enjoying the show either, so surely you wouldn’t mind if I borrow your friend here for a little while, yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what the Consort has planned,” Shepard admitted, refusing to look at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked over at Wrex, who was obviously occupied. “I’d better stay with Shepard. She didn’t bring along any weapons or armor, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you say.” The asari released him, but not without one last caress over his unscarred cheek. “Once you finish your work, you’ll know where to find me. I’ll be on call until late this evening.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, no.” Garrus became a bit frantic. “I’ll need to finish my diagnostics after this. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm. Then I suppose this is good-bye.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She left, the scent of her unique perfume still lingering in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There aren’t any restrictions or anything like that aboard the Normandy,” Shepard quietly explained. “And seriously, you don’t have to worry about the gun calibrations. That can wait. If you want to see her, you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was really only interested in you, Commander,” he pointed out. “Frankly, I’m surprised </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t make plans to see her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard leaned back once again into the sofa, trying to hide herself within its plushness. “I couldn’t do that. I’m not attracted to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she kept her voice low, out of fear of repercussion, “I personally just don’t find asari to be very attractive. They look too much like human women to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like humans?” Garrus echoed, sounding rather unconvinced. “Well, I suppose there are </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> similarities…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” She looked at him, confused. “They look </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>like human women. The only difference is the skin tone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Skin tone?” he repeated, perplexed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. “Scale color. Whatever. You know what I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but… still. I don’t really see it. If anything, asari look the most like turian men.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like... </span>
  <em>
    <span>men</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” She was incredulous. “Uh, I don’t know if you heard, but most identify as women, Garrus.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know. I’m just saying that’s my impression of them. It’s the fringe, mostly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The fringe?” she repeated, confused. “Oh, you mean their hair?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hair</span>
  </em>
  <span>? As in </span>
  <em>
    <span>human </span>
  </em>
  <span>hair?” Garrus shook his head. “Come on, Shepard. That’s quite the stretch. Their fringe doesn’t look anything like that at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I call it hair because that’s where the hair would be on a human. But yeah, it actually looks more like octopus legs than anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Octo… what?” Garrus looked baffled. He paused, waiting on the translation. “Oh. Some kind of creature from Earth?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, never mind.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard looked carefully at the nearest asari but not so carefully as to draw her attention. Where a human woman’s hair normally would be were several octopus legs, slicked back and extending a bit beyond the back of the head. “Actually, I guess you have a point. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>look like a turian’s fringe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s part of why I’ve never actually felt especially attracted to an asari woman before,” Garrus admitted. “People always thought I was odd for thinking that way, but I suppose it’s because I subconsciously associate them with men. Maybe that just makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>strange. I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re trying to tell me you’re straight,” Shepard sounded unconvinced.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A straight guy wouldn’t know all about krogan balls, after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm… maybe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? What do you mean ‘maybe’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I suppose I haven’t thought about it all that much before...” he paused, looking thoughtful. “I mean… it’s possible to be bisexual and still have a preference for one gender over the others, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How did he not already know this? She had heard that turians were fairly progressive regarding their sexuality, but it almost seemed like Garrus was raised in another time period. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bit her lip, inwardly wondering how repressive his upbringing must have been. “Yes…” she said cautiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Okay. Then that’s what I think I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” she shrugged, “no need to lock yourself into a box that you don’t entirely fit into.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus nodded yet again. Then his eyes fell on the asari consort who had confronted them earlier. “Although I have to admit, I liked her hands. They were very smooth and delicate. Maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>why people from so many races are attracted to the asari.”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard hid her hands in the pockets of her dress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never given much thought to cross-species romance,” he remarked, though his voice sounded far off, as if he were more thinking aloud than speaking to her. “Actually I think the only time I’ve ever thought about it before was after watching </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fleet and Flotilla</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Of course, it didn’t help that the first time I watched it was right after puberty...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali’s favorite movie. That one where a turian military man fell in love with a quarian lady.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ve heard of that one. My friend had me watch it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a classic, and it has some good music too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They fell silent shortly afterward, and this wasn’t ideal for Shepard. Relaxing on this soft sofa with a full stomach was lulling her to sleep. She needed to think of a new conversation topic quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh! Garrus, how did you know I was… upset with Wrex earlier?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked puzzled for a moment before realizing what she meant. “Oh, right. I synched up my visor to your suit back when we handled that whole… thing with Sidonis. Since you have implants, I can still pull some data from you, even without your armor.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He suddenly looked frantic. “I don’t store any of it! I just set it to notify me if there’s any significant changes. And I can check your vitals in a firefight. Well, actually, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>store your kill counts and methods, but that’s only so I can derive averages and compare across--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard raised a hand to stop him. “It’s fine, Garrus. I had a feeling you were up to something like that. Although it would have been nice to have gotten a warning first...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Normally I would have, but we weren’t exactly on friendly terms at the time,” he hesitated just then but ultimately didn’t continue that train of thought. “ Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t notify you sooner, I just didn’t think of it...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it. And you can keep the data, just so long as you keep it to yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. Thank you, Commander.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Consort’s assistant began to make her way to them. Shepard sat up straight and started to shuffle her way back to the edge of the seat so that she could stand again without making a fool of herself. When furniture felt a bit too comfortable, it was that much harder to leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that was the point…?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her throat tightened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lady Sha’ira is ready for you. Please. Follow me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard gazed at Wrex until he made eye contact with her before waving him over. After saying good-bye for now to his newfound companions, Wrex followed after them into the Consort’s chambers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her room was just as strangely decorated as the last one. The furniture was sparse and of a modern style. Aside from the bed. Which was large, plush, and extravagantly purple. Sha’ira herself loomed before it, watching Shepard with a barely perceptible smile and an intensity that made Shepard increasingly uncomfortable. “Commander Shepard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard nodded, her throat a bit too tight to respond verbally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In all honesty, this entire situation was causing her stomach to twist into one steady knot of fear and anxiety. What the hell did this woman want with her? And why did Shepard have to come into her literal bedroom to find out? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A large part of her did not want to know the answer to either of these questions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But now Sha’ira was slowly beckoning her to move closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wanting to delay the inevitable, Shepard briefly looked to her companions. Garrus was regarding her with a knitted brow; no doubt her readings were heightened as ever. Wrex, oblivious, looked impatient and motioned for her to move along. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard stopped more than a meter away from the Consort. “You requested my help?” she prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sha’ira closed the distance herself and gently took Shepard’s arm, just above the elbow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her muscles immediately tensed. Shepard moved her arm up and away, and Sha’ira reluctantly let go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please; don’t... touch me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small frown crossed her face, but it disappeared soon enough. “As you wish. Now, I have a delicate matter in which I humbly request your assistance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard carefully folded her arms over her chest and nodded in acknowledgement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A turian general named Septimus has been spreading lies with the intent to damage my reputation,” Sha’ira continued. “I attempted to speak with him myself, but he is deaf to my pleas. You have worked in the Alliance military for a good portion of your career. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are a soldier. He is a general. He will hear you on a level that I cannot match. Therefore, I believe you may be able to reconcile with him on my behalf.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Shepard visibly relaxed. “Yeah, I can do that. No problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Sha’ira swiftly raised her arm and delicately rested her hand on Shepard’s cheek before gently caressing it. “I assure you that you will be… well rewarded for your efforts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shuddered and jerked away. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>asked</span>
  </em>
  <span> you not to touch me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My apologies.” She curled her fingers into her palm before resting it over her heart. “Most humans enjoy my touch. I forget that there </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>a select few who resent the feeling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no problem with touch,” Shepard clarified. “But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a problem with people who try to push me around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A resentful look crossed Sha’ira’s face, but like before, it faded away quickly. “You’ll find Septimus in Chora’s Den.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard nodded and made to leave, followed shortly after by Wrex and Garrus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until the three of them piled into a cab for the Wards when Wrex finally voiced his displeasure. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>realize the Consort herself was all ready to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut the hell up.” Shepard was in no mood for his shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn.” Wrex grinned widely, impressed. “Who pissed you off?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to talk about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex pointedly looked over at Garrus. “What did you do to her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus shrugged in response to Wrex’s questioning gaze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I said </span>
  </em>
  <span>I don’t want to talk about it,” Shepard echoed, perturbed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So the krogan turned to the window instead. “Well, whatever’s got you pissed off, I hope you use it against that turian. It’d be hilarious to watch you beat the hell out of a general. Bet the Hierarchy will shit itself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Hierarchy would be displeased to discover that a general of any repute is behaving in such a manner,” Garrus declared. “It’s unbecoming for anyone to purposefully spread lies, and for a general, it’s all the more so. Not only is he making a fool of himself, he’s also disrespecting the good name of our military, and by extension, all turians everywhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex rolled his eyes. “Good thing we have you on the case. I was losing sleep over the prospect of people not loving the turians.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them were going to drive her up the wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She decided to speak to the one who was more reasonable first. “Garrus… One asshole can’t ruin an entire race of people. There are always going to be dipshits everywhere, even at the top of the chain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But not in turian society. There are certain--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus…” Shepard felt exhausted. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span> society is ideal. I don’t care how good they are, societal rules can’t always stop assholes from being… well, assholes. Like cockroaches, they’ll always find a way to fall through the cracks and survive. That’s why public figureheads aren’t always indicative of the everyday people. In fact, I think they’re often </span>
  <em>
    <span>less </span>
  </em>
  <span>likely to behave like average folks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus stared at her for several seconds, blinking rapidly. “Are you an anarchist, Commander?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard covered her face with her hands, sank into her seat, and groaned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus was utterly baffled now. Wrex started up his slow, bellowing krogan laugh, for who knows what reason, while Shepard just laid there in her seat, utterly defeated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long after that that they arrived at their destination, and so the trio made their way on foot to Chora’s Den. It was a fairly small club, similar to Omega’s Afterlife but without the flashy video screens. Here, it was just terrible lighting, terrible music, and terrible dancing. Well, provocative dancing. Asari only, of course. To top it off, the air smelled like vomit. There was plenty of it to be had here, as most only came to get plastered. Or to get lap dances. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long to find the general, as he was the only turian in the joint at this hour. He was wearing casual clothes, strangely enough. He was even wearing one of those cute little hats male turian civilians sometimes wore. They reminded Shepard of the bonnet the female player character would wear in the original Animal Crossing video game. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But yeah, not that anyone would catch, let alone understand, that reference anyway. Leave it to her antique game collector brother to pull her into obscure old school hobbies... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frankly, she’d consider this general to be rather handsome if he wasn’t sulking around in a shitty bar. Judging by his accomplishments, he was probably quite a bit too old for her though, not that she could actually tell by looking at him. To be perfectly honest, she truly had no idea what separated a young turian from an old one. They didn’t get wrinkles or anything, so... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Let’s just hope his personality wouldn’t ruin what good he had going for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard approached his table. “General Septimus?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go away,” he growled, but his voice also twinged with a faint whine. “I came here to unwind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m here to talk to you about the Consort, Lady Sha’ira.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lady Sha’ira…” he sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally looked up at Shepard. “She was the only one who could help me forget about the war. All the death, all the pain I’ve seen… She could make me forget everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But when I finally expressed my true feelings for her,” he had been staring into the distance before his face plates twisted into a scowl, “she rejected me! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Me</span>
  </em>
  <span>! General of the 45th division of the Hierarchy's grand fleet!”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s head drooped into her open palms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For fuck’s sake. Was this place a breeding ground for incels? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could have sworn half the people she met in this accursed place had some kind of issue with women, whether it was just simply by merely existing or by having the audacity to have things like... opinions. Gasp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She even met Harkin here. Damn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is pathetic!” Garrus exclaimed, waving a hand in disgust. “What could a </span>
  <em>
    <span>woman </span>
  </em>
  <span>possibly have to do with you being in such a miserable state?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She abandoned me!” Septimus cried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex began to laugh. “A once-mighty general reduced to this. Hard to believe the turians could manage to beat anyone in a war, let alone the krogan.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard felt the urge to rub her hands together like a maniacal villain. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes… that’s right, my dear squadmates. Roast him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I may be drunk, krogan, but you’re ugly. And I’ll be sober tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, hey! The hell are you talking about?” Shepard clapped a hand upon Wrex’s shoulder in solidarity. “Wrex is handsome as fuck. He’s one of the most beautiful krogan I have ever seen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex flexed. “Damn straight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you!” Shepard pointed straight at General Septimus, like a lawyer ready to lay down the law. “You need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop </span>
  </em>
  <span>acting like a salty little bitch and </span>
  <em>
    <span>start </span>
  </em>
  <span>acting like the mighty general you supposedly are. Who the hell is going to be attracted to you when you’re sitting around whining and moping?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I didn’t hear a thing from you about Lady Sha’ira’s feelings! If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>cared about her, you’d accept her opinions, no matter what they are! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And besides,” she threw out her arms in disbelief, “who even wants to be with someone who doesn’t love you back? That’s a miserable existence if I ever saw one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Strive to be a man worthy of someone like Lady Sha’ira, and maybe one day, you’ll find someone out there who </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>love you back!” she declared, pointing at him yet again. “And even if you don’t, that’s fine too. You’re a powerful and respected general, aren’t you? You don’t need the approval of </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> to live a happy and full life!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gaped at her before finally opening his mouth to speak. “So you’re saying I should always embody the ideals of a general, even in my daily life?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’d be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>start</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Garrus remarked, utterly unimpressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was positively brutal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She loved it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Septimus hummed and looked into the distance, apparently considering their words. “Yes… yes, you’re right. I need to work on myself first if I want to attract beautiful women.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kind </span>
  </em>
  <span>women,” Shepard corrected, holding her temples. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Smart </span>
  </em>
  <span>women. Women who mesh well with your personality. And remember, you don’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>a woman in order to be happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I need to re-examine a lot of things…” he admitted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paused a moment and then faced Shepard. “I want to make it up to Lady Sha’ira. Perhaps if I apologize and make things right, she and I can remain friends. She doesn’t need to be my wife in order to help me cope with my pain. And, now that I’m really thinking about it, merely forgetting about it doesn’t help either. I need to move past it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you go,” Shepard smiled in relief. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Man, it really was such a lovely thing when people acknowledge their issues instead of doubling down on the bullshit. Good for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He activated his omni-tool. “I’ll write to her now!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His fingers hovered over the screen. “Er… I’ll write to her </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>a cold shower. Or two.”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that… sounds like a good idea.” Shepard sent him finger guns before shuffling away. “Good luck, general.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you… ah, random citizens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem, my dude. Keep on keeping on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they were leaving the bar, Garrus turned to Shepard. “Did you just refer to a general as ‘my dude’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard clapped a hand to her face. “Yeah... that was... Damn it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex waved a hand in annoyance. “Meh, he’s too drunk to remember much of anything right now. Let’s just hope we actually get paid for this one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard bit her lip. She could definitely use the extra cash, given that they were suspended for the rest of the week. Hopefully, it would work out. It wasn’t like she could actually get any sort of confirmation on this one... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’d use the word ‘beautiful’ to describe Wrex?” Garrus continued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah. Have you seen him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the first word I’d pick,” Wrex acknowledged. “But it sure as hell ain’t the last.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… back to the Consort?” Garrus questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no rush,” Shepard pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio meandered over to a corner in the small plaza just outside the Den. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll take a while for Septimus to talk with her anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what next?” Wrex wondered aloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sent Garrus a pointed look. “Fry some turian liver?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The arcade!” Shepard exclaimed. “I want to go there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex grimaced. “I swear... you kids with your gadgets and your damn games…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The combat arena!” Shepard cried, figuring she’d just try again. “That should help teach Wrex how to work well with his teammates.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>sounds like something I can handle.” He nodded in approval. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we’d need to keep it interesting though…” Shepard took a moment to ponder the question. “Ah, I know! Let’s switch up our combat styles and weapons. That’d be more of a challenge, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus blinked. “You mean you want to switch from sniping long range? To what? Attacking from close range? Like with a shotgun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly!” She pointed to him with enthusiasm. “I’ve always wanted to try out close range combat maneuvers, but the fear of dying always got in the way! But since this is a virtual arena, even if we lose, we won’t actually get hurt. Totally worth it to try out something new that you’d never dare to try in real life.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re trying to say you want </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>to switch to a damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>sniper rifle</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Hide in the shadows like a coward?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared straight into his eyes, a smirk on her lips. “What? You think you can’t handle it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bah!” He waved her off. “I could handle </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>position far better than you could ever handle mine. Can you even lift a shotgun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>lifted a sniper rifle lately?” Shepard shot back. “The weight’s practically the same. Depending on the model, obviously, but still. They’re definitely comparable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so. Only worried about your puny arms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Puny I may be, but it’s a lot harder to hit a tiny target than a giant one.” She set her hands on her hips and gave him a smug look. “Maybe I </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>make a better close range candidate than you...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chuffed a laugh. “Hah. We’ll see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, if you're handling close range and Wrex is handling long range, then… what should I do?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard paused to consider. “Instead of an assault rifle, you could go for… a pistol? Yeah, you’d be going from a large weapon to a tiny one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m already pretty familiar with pistols,” he pointed out. “Actually trained with them everyday while I was working for C-Sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard scrunched up her face in confusion. “Why’d they make you work with pistols? Nihlus said you were much more effective with assault rifles for midrange attacks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… that’s because I was on a police force, not the military.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to see your scrawny ass take up a shotgun too,” Wrex suggested to him before turning to Shepard. “Yeah, the two of you working together might make you half as effective as me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve literally never used a shotgun before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then it’s perfect. Get you some practice at being useful for a change.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, I’m liking this idea…” Suddenly Shepard thought of Reaper, the dual wielding shotgun character from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Overwatch</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Yes… together we’ll make up the two hands of death, and the Reaper will rise again! My ultimate will be ready! Death Blossom!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex quietly regarded her for a moment before speaking. “You know… watching you talk about death and destruction while in a fairy princess dress is just… peak Shepard. It’s unbelievable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard let out a puff of air. “Yeah. Okay. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>you can’t stand flowing skirts, but this is so damn far from a princess dress!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I said a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fairy </span>
  </em>
  <span>princess dress,” Wrex corrected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He began to demonstrate with his hands. “A </span>
  <em>
    <span>princess</span>
  </em>
  <span> dress is long and flows out from the hips down to the floor. But you’re wearing a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fairy </span>
  </em>
  <span>princess dress. A fairy princess dress is still flowing, but it’s much shorter. Only flows out from the hips down to the knees.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Shepard and Garrus gaped at him, like two fish trying to breathe. But it was Garrus who finally broke the silence. “How did you become so knowledgeable about human women’s fashion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’ve been around Shepard for about two years now. You learn a thing or two... whether you like it or not. Also, I read… books. Yeah. Magazines and shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The hell you have!” Shepard exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared at Garrus, who was regarding Wrex with a look that indicated he was impressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t listen to him! He’s full of it! Making up shit as he goes!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve started up a collection of fashion magazines. They’re physical copies too, none of that holoshit,” Wrex told Garrus. “I’ll show you sometime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You collect them?” Garrus looked mystified. “But why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because the women are beautiful,” Wrex clapped a hand to Garrus’ shoulder and led him off for the arena. “Why else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That left Shepard alone in the plaza. She blew out a breath of air and shook her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah well. At least the two of them were starting to get along…? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who knew they’d bond over fashion that wasn’t even designed for them?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Arena</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The trio visit the combat arena. Shepard gets wasted before wrapping up loose ends with the Consort.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Been forgetting to say this, but thanks to ShadowSheik14 for beta-reading! This fic would take even longer to update without their help!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Shepard took a moment to regard herself in the mirror, partly to ensure she had it on correctly and partly to ensure she looked good (or at the very least, halfway decent). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This arena armor was far lighter than her actual armor. Well, calling it ‘armor’ was actually a bit of a stretch; it was essentially a form-fitting bodysuit in sheer black. The accents glowed a bit and were lit up in green, as it was the only thing about the suit she had been allowed to customize. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doom Guy probably wouldn’t want to wear something like this, but she liked to think he would if he were here. Like her, he wouldn’t have much of a choice in the matter, at least not if he wanted to play the game without getting kicked.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satisfied, she stepped out of the dressing room and into a small area for weapon selection. Garrus was already out there, studying the shotguns. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, the accents on his outfit shone blue, the same color of his armor set. The getup also revealed the fact that he had not actually put on any muscle since they had last met; apparently it was only his armor that had thickened his frame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now that armor had been damaged from that missile he had taken on Omega... It was still functional thankfully, but it was unfortunate that he had splurged on some nice, sturdy armor, only for it to get ruined by mercenaries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, Commander.” He turned to face her. “I’m supposing green is your favorite color?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really.” Shepard stretched out her shoulders. “I just want to be like Doom Guy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doom… guy?” He lifted a brow plate. “Who’s that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You play video games?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do, yes. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I have a classic that you’ll need to try out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll hold you to it.” He glanced back at the changing rooms. “Wrex sure is taking a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Putting on the bodysuit is kind of awkward,” Shepard admitted. “Maybe he got stuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we... check on him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, the door in question opened, and out shuffled Wrex, looking stiff as a board. His accents were red, like his favorite armor, but it was clear that the poor guy was not used to spandex. He gestured to himself. “I look… ridiculous! And I can… barely move in this thing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just relax,” Shepard suggested. “And don’t worry about it; you look just fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He awkwardly shuffled over towards the weapons racks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex, it moves </span>
  <em>
    <span>with </span>
  </em>
  <span>you. Just move normally, and it’ll adjust to you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He experimentally moved his arms and visibly relaxed once he realized the material wasn’t going to tear on him. “Alright. But this ain’t going to protect me from shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to be fighting holograms. We don’t need real armor.” Shepard walked up to examine the shotguns. “Now which one to pick?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex perked up at the question and made his way over to them. “You’re not used to ‘em, so you’ll want a lighter one, sister. Try out that one on the far right. Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard took it in her arms and gingerly tested its weight. “Can we…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throwing caution into the wind, she briefly fired it at the floor, satisfied with its kick. It didn’t actually fire energy beams, just beams of light. So, the floor suffered no actual damage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… This’ll do nicely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a recommendation for me too?” Garrus wondered. He wasn’t really getting anywhere on his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You like assault rifles, huh?” Wrex considered a moment. “Then you’d probably like this one. Good frame, medium weight. Should do you well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus picked it up and tested the weight and grip. “Seems… ok? I don’t really know much about these.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex laughed, “You’ll learn soon enough.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now for you.” Shepard made her way over to the sniper rifles. “Hmm… Garrus, what do you think? This one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Should be good for a beginner. Scope’s nice and wide, and the size is average, not too much kick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex picked it up, looking it over. “How am I supposed to…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held it up to his eye, peering through the scope. “Oh, hell. You nerds must be… Staring down into this damn… How am I… </span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>am I… going to… to…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started perpetually spinning around in a circle, pausing every now and then to peer through the scope again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To… what?” Shepard watched him, perplexed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never mind.” He froze in place before turning to her. “I got this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she drew out the word, to emphasize her uncertainty. “If you say so. Ready to start?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not quite.” Garrus’ hands tensed on the shotgun. “Could we… talk strategy first?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sure. Yeah, good idea.” Shepard nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Wrex agreed, starting up his spinning again. “I need to practice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard followed after Garrus, who had begun to distance himself from Wrex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally stopped and turned to her. “Shepard, I’m starting to think this is quite… well, it seems like a bad idea. Wielding a shotgun only makes sense if you’re a biotic. Or… if you’re a krogan. You know, with redundant organs and whatnot. We’re going to take a lot of damage; there’s no doubt about that. And we don’t even have armor! Or shields!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He paced back and forth before shaking his head. “We’re going to lose in no time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus, you’re just being way too pessimistic,” she told him, nonchalantly waving her hand. “This is just a game. We’re here to have fun. Maybe even learn some new tactics…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose…” he agreed, though he still looked rather unconvinced. “So how should we handle this? What kind of approach do you think would work?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll need to move fast.” Shepard nodded. “We’ll have to shift around from cover points a lot quicker than usual since we’re in close range of the enemy. Just keep an eye on my six, and I’ll watch yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like… a lot to handle in a short amount of time.” Garrus paused to scratch his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if you move fast enough.” She shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They don’t even let you use any technology, so how am I supposed to…?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Our enemies are literal holograms. Our tech might mess them up, so that’s why it’s all banned.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His posture drooped. “Can we </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>do this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She frowned at him. “Hell yeah; we can! Now get out there, soldier! Get your ass in gear!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” He wasn’t quite certain if she was joking or entirely serious. Either reaction would be a bit odd in this situation, to be honest. “Yes... ma’am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She whirled around. “Wrex! You ready yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally stopped spinning. “Only if you are, sister!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was going to make himself dizzy at this rate... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shook her head. “Alright. Then move out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They headed for the closest available arena and examined its layout. The place was largely composed of… cubes? It was just a large, relatively open area with a multitude of cubes (not boxes or crates, just… like, literal cubes) stacked around, apparently waiting there to serve as cover. A giant square button sat in the middle of the area, with the word ‘start’ plastered on it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard walked up to one of the cubes on the ground and poked it. Apparently it was made of the same material as the floor and the walls.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… I guess I need to find someplace to hide.” Wrex looked around. “Damn. Feels weird being a coward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try over there.” Shepard indicated a spot she’d normally have chosen to scope out the place. It looked large enough to hide him as well. “And don’t bother with headshots, just aim for the chest.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus tentatively crouched beside a cube near the start button. He looked at her and nodded. She waited until she saw a thumbs up from Wrex before heading for the button. She stepped on it before hurrying over to a hiding place nearby Garrus.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shortly afterwards, a squadron of holographic geth materialized on the scene. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geth, huh?” Shepard peeked out from cover to get a closer look at their formation. “That’s, uh… interesting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had never actually seen a geth before. They looked a lot like the quarians. The only difference was: where a quarian’s face normally would be was a large, circular light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She heard Wrex fire off a shot, but whatever he was aiming at, he entirely missed. Looks like she and Garrus were going to have to pick up the slack... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not now, though. A cluster of four of them were about to flank her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve gotta move!” she called out to Garrus. “Four of them! Two o’clock, headed to four! Cover me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“W-where?” he sputtered. But when he looked back at her, she was already dashing away. So he looked around wildly before finally finding the small squad. Fearing the amount of time he had just wasted, he fired on them immediately, but since he was too far away to cause any real damage, all he really managed to do was alert them (and half of the rest of the geth) to his position. “Damn it, Shepard! I need to move!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled into a new position, luckily managing to avoid directly taking much of the ensuing heavy gunfire. “Shepard! Where are you? Come over here; we need to take out those four together if we’re going to--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She popped out from cover, firing on a lone geth who had been trying to flank Garrus. The shot rattled the hologram’s chest, causing it to stagger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus took notice of it and fired, deactivating the thing. “Shepard! Over here, hurry!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ducked back down and quietly scurried over to his cover point, squishing beside him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Wrex was firing at… well, something, but he failed to hit any actual targets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is the only way I can think of to do this,” Garrus told Shepard, while awkwardly trying to allow her more room, all without compromising himself too. “We can’t get in close without taking heavy fire, but if we move in together, I figure they can’t shoot the both of us at once.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” she agreed. “Go ahead; I’ll follow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair left cover together and ran for the nearest hiding place, firing on the geth quartet as they went. The group took quite a bit of damage, of course, but they weren’t the only geth in the arena. So now, of course, all of the other squadrons had taken notice of their comrades’ predicament, and they certainly weren’t going to be stopped, or even slowed down, by Wrex. The whole lot of them openly fired on Shepard and Garrus and began to advance on them, while the pair frantically scurried to reach the safety of another cover point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus!” Shepard crushed herself beside him, hoping to avoid the hailstorm of light ‘bullets’ buzzing all around them. “They’re, uh... firing on the both of us at once!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know!” Garrus clenched his jaw, looking over the fading lights on their suits. They weren’t going to last for much longer. “But we need to take out the last of these geth that are right on top of us first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate this!” Shepard cried, pushing even closer into Garrus since she was still getting shot at on her other side. “I can’t even fit over here! I’m bailing! Cover me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard! What are you--?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But before he could argue, she ran off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it!” With no other choice, he rose and fired, managing to take out one of their flankers. That left two of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard, meanwhile, dove behind another hiding spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard! Get back here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! We need to stick to the original plan! They can’t shoot us if we keep moving!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard! I can’t--” Realizing that he was about to get flanked again, Garrus had no choice but to scurry off to another cube. He peeked out to look for Shepard, only to discover that she had abandoned her latest cover for somewhere else. “Shepard! You’re moving too fast; I can’t cover you if I don’t know where you--!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cursed again. The rules forbade him to use electronic equipment, so without his visor, he was, more or less, left in the dark. He had no idea where she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pair of geth were about to circle around behind him again, so he hurried to head to another spot. However, the second he rose from cover, he was met with a hailstorm of gunfire, all striking his chest at once. His suit dimmed entirely; he was out of the game. “What?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently a squadron of some of the other geth forces had circled around his other side, flanking him there without him even noticing. He had been so focused on the original squad of flankers, he had mostly forgotten about all the rest. Or rather, he didn’t think any of them would have caught up to him that quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So now Shepard was probably surrounded, and she didn’t even know it.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hah! Take that!” She fired on one of the original flankers, defeating it rather easily. She ducked back down with a smirk. “Only one more!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even while crouched down, several geth fired on her, rendering her cover entirely useless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She yelped and tried to run away, only to be met with gunfire from all sides. Out of options, she dropped to the ground and instinctively covered her head, thinking that might save her from the majority of light beam bullets. This move only slightly delayed the inevitable, however. There were still plenty of geth with a decent shot on her, so she was out of the game within several seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh…” Shepard just remained on the ground, reeling in her humiliating defeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How many had she taken down again? Two? Or was it only just the one? Damn…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Playing the game like this probably wasn’t one of her better ideas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus had wandered over to her position, looking down at her with confusion. How the hell did she wind up here? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blew her hair out of her face but otherwise didn’t bother moving. “Yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think we can help Wrex, but we </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>at least watch.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He offered her a hand, half expecting her not to take it. When she didn’t move, he tried to play off it as an exaggerated hand movement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… Let’s do that,” she finally agreed.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was suddenly feeling exhausted. She held out a hand to him, wondering if he’d take it this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did and pulled her to her feet. Or rather, yanked her to her feet. The momentum nearly made her fall forwards, forcing her to struggle to gain her footing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He panicked and hurried to help steady her. “I’m sorry; I forgot you aren’t wearing armor. I, ah… didn’t realize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine.” She tapped his arm, indicating that she wanted him to let go now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did so, seeing that her footing was firm. “They say humans are heavier than they look, so…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He startled and then grimaced. “Damn. I mean, I… I didn’t mean it like that. I hope you aren’t offended. I--ah...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started looking around for Wrex, only to discover that he still hadn’t budged from that spot she had pointed out to him from the start of the challenge. “He hasn’t moved?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He also hadn’t managed to land a single shot. He was getting increasingly frustrated with each miss, ultimately rendering his aim all the more ineffective. Eventually, many of the geth had advanced so close to him that his sniper rifle would no longer be effective anymore anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you bastards! Get ready!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made to replace the safety on the rifle, only to realize it was nonexistent. The guns in the arena only fired ‘bullets’ made of light, after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confused, but shaking it off quickly enough, Wrex gripped the butt of the rifle in hand and spun in a circle, whirling the rifle around like it was a flail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately for him, physical attacks were not allowed in the arena. And well, the geth were just holograms, after all. So it wasn’t too unsurprising that the rifle tore through them with no effect at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t use physical attacks!” Shepard yelled out to him, covering the sides of her mouth to amplify her shout. “That was in the rules; you were supposed to actually read them </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>you signed up for this!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex tossed the apparently useless gun aside and clapped his fists together before releasing a guttural cry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll do this my way!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His subsequent bellow was positively primal as a powerful wave of biotic energy raced out of him, slamming into all the geth surrounding him from every angle and knocking every last one of them off their feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy crap!” Garrus braced himself for impact, but the energy fizzled out before it came anywhere near them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex is a force of nature.” Shepard nodded. “He just ate too, so he’ll probably last a good while.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to Garrus. “Let’s find a good place to watch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The geth forces staggered back to their feet. But they weren’t going to last much longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With another cry, Wrex waved his arm across the arena. A wave of biotic force soon followed, and the remaining geth went down for the count. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The back wall indicated that wave one was over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex laughed and flexed. He was about to go gloat when another squadron entered the field. So instead, he ducked behind cover, preparing to advance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The latest squadron went down much like the first, the only difference now being that Wrex used his powers less aggressively, instead opting for attacking small groups, one at a time. In the process, however, he took quite a few hits. His suit wasn’t going to last much longer. He was a large target, so whenever he came out from cover, he was vulnerable. But thanks to his hearty meal, he wasn’t even tired yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bring it on!” he shouted after the confirmation of wave two’s completion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But wave three’s geth forces were more cohesive. They didn’t break from a close knit formation, so Wrex was forced to attempt to take on all of them at once. Another powerful wave from him sent them all flying, but once they were back on their feet, they began to fire. Wrex was forced to hide behind a nearby cube to recover. The geth had returned to their feet a lot quicker than he had hoped for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two smaller squads broke off from the whole to prepare to flank the krogan on either side. Peeking briefly from cover, Wrex saw it coming and readied himself to prepare a dual attack. When the geth flankers surrounded him on each side, he met them both with two sources of biotic energy, one emanating from each open palm. This resulted in the defeat of both squads, leaving only one left. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned heavily against his cover cube, gasping for breath. He waited until they were practically on top of him before vaulting over it, unleashing yet another shot of energy from a wave of his arm. But his abilities were beginning to fade in strength, only serving to cause the geth to stumble, rather than fall over completely. Now would be the perfect time to shoot these robots, </span>
  <em>
    <span>if </span>
  </em>
  <span>he had a functioning gun. But he didn’t, so he retreated back behind cover, getting shot at as he did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Upon reaching safety, he glared down at his suit. Barely hanging on.    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He waited again before popping out to attack, but his biotic force was even weaker this time, only managing to take out one last geth before the others finished him off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The arena went dark before returning back to normal lighting. ‘You lose’ flashed on the back wall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex sank to the ground, breathing heavily. When the other two approached him, he let out a weary laugh. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shrugged. “We were overwhelmed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex gave them a tired grin. “Turns out you two can’t do much of anything without </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>there to save you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When armed with only a shotgun?” Garrus tilted his head to the side, pretending to ponder deeply before continuing. “Yes, please do save my ass if I’m ever caught in such a situation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My stealth approach would have worked if I had anyone backing me up…” Shepard insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t back you up if I don’t know where you are,” Garrus pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We needed a radio. That would’ve helped.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think there’d be enough time for you to describe your location while you’re on the front lines...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She frowned at him. “Stop coming at me with things like... logic and reason.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked perplexed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swept a hand across the air. “Joking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex smirked, “I guess I should get used to this, carrying the team. Been my reality for a while now, and it doesn’t look like it’ll change anytime soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, live it up…” Shepard moved to support his left side, while Garrus went for his right. “But I think that’s enough biotics for one day, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heh, I’m only just getting started. Those damn geth just got in a couple lucky shots, is all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m sure…” Shepard wrapped his arm around her shoulders and awkwardly tried to hold his back, since she couldn’t quite wrap an arm around his waist. Her arm was a bit too short, and his waist, a bit too massive, for that. Garrus could (sort of) manage it though, and so the three of them slowly made their way out of the arena together.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~1~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard met up with Garrus outside the changing stations, only to be left waiting on Wrex again. Like before, they hung out for a while, but this time, it felt like he was never going to come out. “Where’s Wrex?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we… check on him?” Garrus wondered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard held a hand to her temple and sighed. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been some time now…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess… You go first. Who knows what we might stumble in on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus gave her an odd look before apparently agreeing, making his way to the room Wrex had disappeared into. Once his hand was on the door, however, he hesitated. “...Wait. What do you mean by that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grumbled, impatient. “Just open the door.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His brow plates and mandibles twitched irritably, but he ultimately did as she asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind the door, Wrex was crumpled onto the ground, snoring loudly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He fell </span>
  <em>
    <span>asleep</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard sighed. “Yeah… this happens sometimes. Exhausted himself by using too much of his biotic powers. He always snores like that when he’s really low on biotic energy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus turned to her, curious. “Do all biotics do that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The powers weren’t common among turians, and admittedly, none of his prior companions had had the gift. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shrugged. “Liara doesn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, what should we do? We can’t just leave him here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard chuffed out a laugh. “You think we can move him? Think again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t just wake him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard smiled weakly and shook her head. “Been there; done that. Hasn’t ever worked. Can’t even wake him on a good day, let alone when he’s like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus stood still and watched the slumbering krogan, apparently out of ideas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll be fine, after a good night’s rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What should we do in the meantime?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shrugged. “Get a drink?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And just leave him here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He ain’t going nowhere now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if someone tries to hurt him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard let out a small, unimpressed laugh. “You saw what he did to those geth, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked at her, puzzled. “He was awake then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but even if you just poke Wrex in his sleep, he can still attack you with what’s left of his biotic energy. You can even try it right now, if you’re feeling brave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus instinctively moved to do so but quickly hesitated. “You know what; I’ll take your word on that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? Drinks?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~2~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The nearest bar was quite spacious and clean. The music was loud, and the lighting, obnoxious. Although, thankfully, it was nowhere near the level of Omega’s Afterlife scene. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just near the entrance, a hanar was preaching, so Shepard consequently quickened her pace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And of course, the preacher locked onto Shepard immediately. “This one believes that people have forgotten humor, poetry, and romance!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard merely pointed at them, her tone short. “No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hanar deflated. “This one is beginning to regret their life’s choices...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then make new ones,” she suggested. “Live the life you want to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one appreciates the sentiment and will choose to contemplate said life choices immediately.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that said, the hanar began glowing in a multitude of colors. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, okay... Good luck with that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked over at Garrus and shrugged. He apparently shared the sentiment with a small shrug of his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard then headed straight for the nearest available barkeep, a turian wearing orange. He nodded to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” she greeted him. “What’s the word these days?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “How would I know? Been standing behind this counter all day.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked to Garrus for sympathy. “Why do humans always ask me that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At a loss, Garrus merely shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry; thought I was playing Skyrim for a second there…” she admitted, sheepish. “But whatever. I need a drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He poured her one, and she gulped it down immediately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus regarded her with a skeptical look. “Commander, I’m starting to think you have a problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waved him off. “It’s only a problem if I pass out. More, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After her third drink, he offered her a ‘Batarian Special.’ Sure, okay. It was harder than the last three, at least. Now she was finally starting to really feel it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bartender blinked. “Wow. I’ve never had anyone drink that much before. Maybe you can handle the hard stuff...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure. Bring it on,” she encouraged him, swaying slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He brought out a bottle, showing her the label. She couldn’t actually read it though. And that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>because she was too drunk to read, damn it. “The hell’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They call this ryncol. A favorite among krogan. Said to hit you like a bucket of shattered glass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know it. I’ve had it before,” she told him, beckoning for more. “Go ahead; pour a glass. I’m ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “It’s your funeral.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook the bottle well, tossing it around to show off a little. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard? Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>about this?” Garrus looked rather uneasy. He watched her standing there, swaying on her own two feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed, a little louder than was necessary. “Relax; I got this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But yeah, after that single swig, Shepard dropped the glass, while her vision swirled and then faded away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oops.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she came to, she slowly realized she had a turian in front of her. No, above her. Yeah, that’s probably what was happening. Anyway, he was pretty hot. Way more than he was supposed to be. Wait… was he pissing? Yeah, he’s probably pissing… Wait, no. Or… yes? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was just fixing his pants when he met Shepard’s gaze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” She drew out the greeting flirtatiously. She tried to give him finger guns too, but it sort of didn’t work out. She didn’t really know where her hands were. Er, they were there, just not moving all that great. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eh, whatever. Close enough. He would get the idea. Probably. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, yeah. Surely this turian man was about to be swooned off his feet. Er, charmed off his... Wait, no. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Swept</span>
  </em>
  <span> off his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, that’s right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sent her a dirty look and stalked off, an irritated huff escaping him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What the hell? Was she not sexy enough for him? Why would he--oh, fuck. She had been flirting with him </span>
  <em>
    <span>while </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was pissing. Damn it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard?” Garrus’ face suddenly took up her entire view. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The abrupt movement immediately nauseated her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clamped a hand over her mouth and hurriedly rose before emptying the contents of her stomach into the nearest toilet. Thankfully, her lunch had been digested already, so that meant it wasn’t too nasty. Er, </span>
  <em>
    <span>less </span>
  </em>
  <span>nasty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After she finished, Garrus eventually came over and flushed it. “Feeling better now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She groaned, still half-leaning on the toilet seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A hand took her arm, and she slowly staggered to her feet. He led her to the sink, and she managed to wash her hands and face, even rinsed out her mouth to rid herself of the foul taste of ryncol mixed with stomach acid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s head back to the ship,” Garrus suggested. “I can pick up Wrex later. But for now, I really think you need to call it a day.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no. No.” She waved a hand at him, as if to stop him from touching her, although he was actually just standing there nearby, not even close enough to reach her anyways. She tried to raise her hand up higher, like to wave him off level to his face (or at least his damn chest), but her hand just felt too heavy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck his height. Why was he so damn tall? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And why was her hand so damn heavy...? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she continued to wave it as it was, level with his stomach. “No, Garrus. Enough. No more of that shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard.” He waited until her hand stopped moving before taking it in both of his. “Let’s head back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she drew out the word, shaking her hand free of his. “I said: enough, Garrus! Stop that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” He returned his hands to his sides. “Then where </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>you want to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she repeated, reaching out and pointing at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hummed quietly but didn’t say anything more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus, no.” Her pointing eventually devolved into her poking him in the ribs. She wanted to poke him in the chest, actually, but her hand was so damned heavy. Her eyelids were heavy too. “Not anywhere, Garrus.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t really know why, but she was annoyed with him. Very damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoyed </span>
  </em>
  <span>with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he said again, taking a step backward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard laughed, somewhat contemptuously. “Yeah, not any of that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started to walk away from him, only to stumble and nearly topple over. The sudden loss of balance made her incredibly dizzy; she would have fallen straight to the ground if someone hadn’t caught her. Apparently Garrus, again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was saying something to her; sounded a little panicked, but his words were too rapid for her to understand. Her brain became a fog, and her vision was hazy. Her ears were just full of Garrus buzzing. He seemed louder than he should be; it was all just too much. Finally, to Shepard’s immense relief, everything just faded to black.      </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She regained consciousness with a roaring headache. She groaned, struggling to open her eyes. Once she finally did, everything was blurry. She continually blinked until she could finally see. She was in her cabin, on her bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pit dropped in her stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Did Garrus bring her here? Her clothes were--she grimaced. Her head was pounding. The pain was even making her feel dizzy too. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t think too hard too quickly, Shepard. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She closed her eyes for a few moments, thinking of nothing until the intense pain passed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next, she took stock of her situation. Her shoes were on, her clothes… entirely in place. She opened her eyes and looked over herself. No scruffs or scrapes… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a deep breath to calm herself. She reminded herself that Garrus had had plenty of opportunities to harm her before, and nothing ever came of it. This was fine. He was actually quite the friend, bringing her home after all that. At least she </span>
  <em>
    <span>assumed </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was Garrus who had brought her home. She didn’t actually have evidence or anything like that. But I mean, who else would’ve brought her here? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, shit. Wait a minute here. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>carried </span>
  </em>
  <span>her home? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What kind of sorry ass commander was she, having to need to be taken care of by her crew? </span>
  <em>
    <span>She </span>
  </em>
  <span>was supposed to be the one looking out for </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She groaned again, wallowing in her pain for a moment before finally moving to sit upright. Once she finally did so, she noticed Garrus sitting on her sofa, apparently buried in his omni-tool. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up, apparently rather surprised. “Shepard. You’re awake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unable to find her tongue, she mumbled in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rose quickly. “I tried taking you to the medical wing, but it was closed up… Figured it would be a bad idea to hack in, so… I brought you here. I hope that’s alright.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She merely hummed in approval, still too weary to properly answer him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like… shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, damn. That was eloquent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure you drink plenty of water,” he told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded to her and started to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Putting you through this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need for that,” he chuckled softly and shook his head. “And I believe I still owe you anyway, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t remember,” she admitted. “I only keep score when I’m dealing with enemies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then, I should definitely count myself lucky,” he smiled with a pointed spread of his mandibles before turning to leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” She got up, following after him. “I’ve got to take the elevator anyway, to get some water.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they entered the elevator, he put in their destinations.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rubbed her arm, feeling ashamed. “I swear I’m not normally like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over at her, apparently waiting for her to continue, but she didn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something got you down?” he eventually asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was staring at the doors ahead of them, and she startled slightly at the question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, not at all. I was just… ” She looked about, struggling to come up with an answer that made sense. “Just being silly, is all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And showing off…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damn her silly crush on Archangel. She would need to get over that sooner, rather than later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Okay.” There was a hint of confusion to his voice, but he didn’t press the question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They arrived at her destination, but she didn’t move to leave. “I have a high tolerance for alcohol, so… I haven’t really hit my limit all that often before. I’m still sort of learning where it actually is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I hope you discover it safely, of course.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Thanks for watching out for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. I consider myself a bit of an expert at it, at this point.” He moved out of the elevator, apparently opting to accompany her to the mess hall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” She followed him. “You save my ass like, what, twice, and now you think yourself an expert?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not what I meant.” He shook his head. “I mentioned before how I started my career at C-Sec patrolling the Presidium. Well, it turns out many stressed-out politicians turn to alcohol for comfort.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, so you’re an expert at dealing with belligerent drunks... Must have been fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s just say I was relieved to join the investigations unit when I did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She froze, her hand on a water bottle. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t belligerent, was I?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She honestly couldn’t remember much of what had happened. All she could vividly remember was throwing up. Oh, and that sexy turian who had rejected her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damn it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only a little,” he answered, unfazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grimaced. “Define ‘a little.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Well, I tried to encourage you to come back to the ship, but apparently you didn’t want to? Kept telling me ‘no.’ But then you passed out again, so I just brought you back myself. As far as drunken encounters go, it wasn’t all that bad. I honestly wouldn’t have even remembered it if it had happened on an average day during my time at C-Sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bit her lip, thoughtful. “I didn’t try to, uh… fight you or anything?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or worse, flirt with you? She </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have a crush on Archangel, after all… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You... pointed at me?” Garrus shrugged yet again. “Really, Commander. Nothing bad came out of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then, good.” Shepard grabbed the drink and scrounged around for the spiciest thing she could find. “You’re going to get Wrex next, right? Let me come with you; it can be tricky to get him moving.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Surely he’d be awake by now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know Wrex.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently Mess Sergeant Gardner had hidden the good stuff. So she grabbed a bag of spicy chips instead. It would have to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fortunately, I do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~3~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they entered Wrex’s changing room, he was still there, sound asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard opened the bag of spicy chips. “Stay back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so.” Garrus regarded her with genuine curiosity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex? It’s me, Shepard.” She slowly approached him, holding the bag far out in front of her. “Don’t worry. It’s just me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An errant strand of biotic energy crackled around him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex,” she said firmly. “It’s me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She dropped the bag of chips near his nose and scurried away from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to Garrus. “Hopefully that works.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The scent of food?” Garrus realized, dumbfounded. “Is it really that easy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it wasn’t easy!” Shepard insisted. “If I hadn’t talked to him, he would have attacked me!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually Wrex began to stir. He slowly sat up before finally opening his eyes completely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhmm… what are you two doing in here? Don’t you know it’s creepy to interrupt a man while he’s... changing his clothes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not changing your clothes!” Shepard exclaimed, fed up. “You’ve been sleeping... for </span>
  <em>
    <span>hours</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex tiredly smacked his lips and blinked a few times before replying. “Huh? It can’t have been more than a few minutes? Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrong,” Garrus corrected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn.” Wrex paused to scratch his ass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he noticed the bag of chips on the floor in front of him. “Is anyone gonna eat that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard swept a hand across the air in front of her. “It’s for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, thanks!” He grabbed it up and tilted the bag back to drop the entirety of its contents into his waiting mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get out of here,” Shepard sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they left the arena, Wrex spoke up. “Did the two of you pick up the reward from Lady Sha’ira while I was out? Apparently, it’s been hours, so…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s right,” Garrus’ brow plates rose in surprise. “I had almost forgotten about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…” Shepard grimaced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She really didn’t want to visit the Consort again, especially now that she was still a bit hungover.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could handle it tomorrow, if you’re not feeling up to it, Commander,” Garrus suggested, apparently taking notice of her expression. “No need to push yourself. I’m sure the Consort wouldn’t mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Wrex looked alarmed. “Shepard, is something wrong?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine,” she assured him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Honestly, putting this off until tomorrow would only delay the inevitable. Since she was currently unable to gather any income, she definitely needed the credits, so she couldn’t just avoid the matter entirely. Not to mention, if she went tomorrow, Garrus and Wrex likely wouldn’t be accompanying her anymore. And she definitely didn’t want to go there alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s take care of it now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~4~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander Shepard,” Lady Sha’ira smiled warmly at her. “I just received a lovely letter from Septimus. Thank you for speaking with him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem,” Shepard smiled weakly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sha’ira steadily approached her. “Now, for your reward…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… okay!” Shepard panicked and backed away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held out her arms, waving them wildly. “That’s close enough. You’re fine right there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sha’ira didn’t even slow her stride. Without warning, she seized Shepard’s wrist and yanked it closer to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch,” Shepard winced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman was a lot stronger than she looked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sha’ira delicately placed her free hand atop Shepard’s palm, while the other hand remained tightly clenched around her wrist. Biotic energy swirled around her as her gaze grew distant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her open hand softly massaged Shepard’s palm, causing it to quake as she tried to writhe away from the awkward sensation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you doing?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard tried to pull away, but Sha’ira’s grip held strong. Shepard wanted to simply shove her away, but the more rational side of her mind held her back. She didn’t actually know if Sha’ira had any combat training, and she certainly didn’t want to inadvertently hurt her. Her frame was rather light and delicate, even if her grip certainly wasn’t. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Agh</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Enough, okay? Let go!”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus was just about to place a hand on her shoulder to stop her when Sha’ira abruptly released her hold. The biotic energy immediately dispersed as well. “It is done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> done?” Shepard echoed, terrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are a skilled warrior. A soldier,” Lady Sha’ira stared at Shepard, her posture rigid. “You will face many challenges, fraught with danger. You shall overcome them </span>
  <em>
    <span>if </span>
  </em>
  <span>you remain strong. You must keep the faith.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay?” Shepard looked about awkwardly, rubbing her wrist.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already transferred a sum of credits to express my appreciation.” Sha’ira nodded before smiling suggestively. “Now… for--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Thanks; that’s great,” Shepard interrupted, an uneasy smile crossing her features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, for your last reward...” Sha’ira dramatically offered a hand to Shepard, delicately arching her fingers to appear extra seductive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s really not necessary…” Shepard slowly backed up, waving her hands. “Really, I’m just grateful for the credits. I’ll just… be on my way now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Consort scowled, her hand dropping to her side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex cleared his throat. “Lady Sha’ira, if you’re willing, I’d be more than happy to take her place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to look at the krogan, who was holding out a hand to her while the other one politely rested upon his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her expression slowly warmed. She was impressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very well.” She lightly laid her hand upon his, and he closed his fingers over hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without warning, Wrex twirled her into his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She giggled breathily at the sudden show of strength and whimsy and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his lower lip. “It would be my pleasure…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They began passionately making out within seconds. And the way they started pulling at each other’s clothes meant this would escalate even further in no time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get out of here,” Shepard warned, taking Garrus’ arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently he had been trapped in a dumbfounded stupor this entire time, and her hand on his finally pulled him out of it. “Y-yeah. Right. Let’s... get out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She led him away until he finally gathered his bearings and followed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard didn’t release the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding until they had finally left the building entirely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She honestly wanted to collapse right then and there. “Damn! That was… something else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus nodded, apparently still a bit too dumbfounded to form a reply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what?” She tapped her fingers together, in a way that suggested she was trying to test if this was reality or just a dream. “Let’s just... go back to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Normandy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, call it a night, and never speak of this again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Is this when humans would use the phrase ‘what happens on shore leave, </span>
  <em>
    <span>stays </span>
  </em>
  <span>on shore leave?’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her taps slowed to a stop. “Yeah.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Liara</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In an effort to build relations between the two, Shepard invites Liara and Garrus out for lunch. Things sort of go according to plan.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a warning: non malicious mis-gendering occurs ahead.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So how’s the crew?” Shepard asked. “Anything I should know about?” </p><p>Kelly Chambers ran a hand over her closely cropped hair, while the other hand gripped her datapad a little tighter. “Let me see...”</p><p>Dr. Chambers or Kelly, as she preferred to be called, was a clinical psychologist. She was young and therefore, not very experienced, but Shepard certainly wasn’t complaining. She had always wanted a therapist aboard the ship, so she was ecstatic once she had finally procured the funds to keep her on indefinitely. </p><p>“Nothing in particular stands out.” Kelly looked up from her notes, a smile forming on her face. “But I did meet with Garrus the other day. I like him. He seems like a caring person.” </p><p>Her smile faded. “He’s been through so much. I felt like I wanted to hug him and tell him that everything is going to be okay.”</p><p>Shepard scowled. “Keep it professional.”</p><p>She internally winced. She honestly hadn’t meant for that to come out so harshly, but well… there it was. Unprofessional as fuck.</p><p>Okay. Maybe dropping ‘unprofessional as fuck’ from the good old vocabulary system would be a good start.</p><p>Kelly, of course, immediately honed in on this, a flicker of a smile on her face. “Was that a nerve?”</p><p>“No! I mean, of course not! I didn’t mean to--” Shepard panicked. </p><p>But seeing Kelly’s knowing gaze in response only served to defeat her. She laid back in her seat and sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”</p><p>“It’s not like you to do that.” </p><p>Shepard opened her eyes to give her ‘that look.’ “Have you seen me talk to Udina?”</p><p>“Shepard,” she said softly, shifting her position in her seat, “you’re avoiding me. Why?”</p><p>“I am not,” she told her, wearily. </p><p>“You’re not?”</p><p>Shepard sighed. “Really. It’s nothing. And I just told you; I had a rough time the past couple of days. Having the day off yesterday was nice, but I still got a little tense from time to time. And you already know why. We <em> just </em>talked about it.”</p><p>“So you say.” Kelly gazed off to the side before looking directly at her. “But why do I still have this feeling there’s something you haven’t told me?” </p><p>“Maybe you’re paranoid.”</p><p>She laughed. “Maybe I am.”</p><p>“Oh, right. I just remembered something...” Shepard opened up her omni-tool. “I forwarded you a message I got from one of… well, one of the widows on Garrus’ team. She mentioned some things you might need to work on with him. Did you have the chance to read it?”</p><p>“I did.” She nodded. “I’ve added it to his file.”</p><p>Shepard looked over at her datapad suspiciously. “He can’t get to any of that, can he? He knows how to--”</p><p>Chambers put up a hand to stop her. “Don’t worry. Specialist Traynor encrypts and monitors my files regularly. And she told me herself that there hasn’t been any evidence that anyone has attempted to hack into them yet.”</p><p>“Good.” Shepard looked away. </p><p>“Commander,” Kelly leaned towards her, her demeanor kind, “could we talk about your search for a significant other? I know we’ve had a long session today, and this isn’t one of your favorite topics. But if you’re feeling up to it…”</p><p>“What is there to talk about?” Shepard demanded to know, her tone defensive. </p><p>A moment’s retrospection softened her brow, and she took a breath. “Sorry. It’s just… there’s nothing to say.”</p><p>“You’re sure?”</p><p>Shepard exhaled. She had a feeling she already knew what was up. “What did you hear?”</p><p>Chambers shook her head and smiled. “Well, Wrex has told me--”</p><p>“<em> What </em>have I told you about Wrex?” Shepard exclaimed, weary. “All he does is talk. It’s just bluster. All of it.”</p><p>“He told me you have feelings for Garrus.”</p><p>Shepard literally collapsed in her chair, her hands on her face. “For fuck’s sake…”</p><p>“Shepard--”</p><p>She groaned. “What?”</p><p>“Talk to me, please.”</p><p>“Look; it… it doesn’t matter anyway! It wouldn’t work!” </p><p>Now she looked interested. “Why not?”</p><p>“It just... wouldn’t.” Shepard kept her hands over her face. “I hate cops.”</p><p>Kelly frowned. “Ah. That’s right. Your family’s American. You weren’t born there, of course, but… I can understand your hesitation. There’s a history there. Wounds like that don’t fade away so easily. They cause invisible scars, memories that can never fade. Even across generations, the stories, and the truths behind them, remain.”</p><p>Shepard merely hummed in response. She didn’t want to discuss it further. </p><p>“If it makes you feel any differently, I would technically classify Garrus as a detective, not as a police officer. He was a patrol officer for only a year. Most of his time was spent in an investigations unit.”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter. It’s the mentality. He has that same bullshit mentality.”</p><p>“Have you talked to him about this?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“And?” </p><p>“Well… he said he’d… do research? He doesn’t know anything about Earth’s history, which, I guess is not too surprising.”</p><p>“That’s good to hear!” Kelly nodded, her whole body practically bouncing with that energy. “He’s willing to try to see things from others’ perspective. I hope you will follow up with him on that.”</p><p>“Sure.” Shepard folded her arms over her chest, staring up at the ceiling. </p><p>After a moment’s thought, her eyes snapped to Kelly. “This doesn’t mean anything… serious. I’m just trying to become, you know, better friends with him. It’s for morale.”</p><p>She smiled softly. “You don’t have to be afraid of intimacy, Shepard.”</p><p>“I’m not,” she frowned. “Anyway, I’ve had enough for one day. Thank you, but this has been exhausting.”</p><p>“Of course.” She nodded. “Take care.”</p><p>“You too.” </p><p>Seeing that the door was unlocked, Shepard popped into Liara’s office next. Unsurprisingly, she was seated at her desk, likely researching away as usual. She looked up at Shepard’s approach and smiled softly. “Shepard. It’s good to see you.”</p><p>“Hi Liara.” Shepard nodded, smiling in turn. “I figured you’d be researching, but it is a little strange to see you in here while we’re at the Citadel. Normally you’re off enjoying the fresh air. Er... as fresh as it can be, I guess.”</p><p>“Well, you know me.” She briefly looked at her screen, likely checking the time. “Got up too early, started in on a new topic, and lost track of time.”</p><p>“That sounds about right,” Shepard agreed, her smile wide. </p><p>She stepped around the desk to stand before her. “So are you--”</p><p>“Shepard,” Liara very nearly gasped, holding a hand over her mouth. “You look absolutely stunning…”</p><p>Shepard laughed quietly, looking about herself in confusion. “Uh… what?”</p><p>“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to stare.” She looked away, her hand moving to nervously play with her other one. “It’s just… for a moment there, you reminded me of my mother.”  </p><p>“Your… mother?” </p><p>Matriarch Benezia. She was a skilled biotic, well-known and respected for her wisdom and vision as well as her power. She had formerly worked in a high-ranking leadership role within the government of Thessia, the homeworld of the asari. Fairly recently, however, she stepped away from her career to serve on Saren’s team, as his lead officer. She was also his business partner... and his girlfriend.  </p><p>As for Liara, she had cut ties with her mother long ago; their parting had been cordial but obviously not warm. </p><p>“Yes, Benezia, she…” Liara’s eyes turned distant. “She used to wear such pretty sundresses whenever it was warm. Her favorite color was yellow. She always looked so beautiful…”</p><p>“O-oh. Um… I see.” Shepard’s puzzled expression also looked like she was somewhat terrified.</p><p>Shepard had never heard of Benezia until she became Saren’s girlfriend. And she had met Benezia (or rather, had known <em> of </em>her) before she had met Liara. </p><p>But from what little she did know of Benezia, the woman did not at all seem like the type to wear fluttery sundresses, especially in such a happy color as yellow. Rather, Benezia was always wearing tight, sexy dresses which left little to the imagination. She had never seen her wear a color lighter than a dark shade of blue, which meant she mostly wore black. And scary-looking headdresses. </p><p>Maybe she wore such things now to please Saren? If that were true, it’d certainly be rather tragic, changing up your entire style for a man. </p><p>Shepard blinked rapidly to remove herself from her stupor. “Oh, um. Hey, if you like this dress, you can borrow it anytime. You’re a bit taller than me, but you’re so slim that I think it’d be fine. Maybe it’d be just a touch too short, but I’m sure that wouldn’t be too noticeable.”</p><p>Liara startled. “Oh, no; I couldn’t possibly! You look lovely <em> because </em>you look so comfortable and at ease in it. I could never feel that way while wearing a dress.”</p><p>“I guess it <em> can </em>take some getting used to.” Shepard shrugged. “But let me know if you change your mind.”</p><p>“I will.” She nodded. “And thank you for the offer.”</p><p>“Anyway, I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch together?”</p><p>“Oh, that would be nice. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to stay for long afterwards, but…”</p><p>“Oh? Something up?” </p><p>“Well…” She averted her gaze. </p><p>When she looked up at Shepard again, she thought she could see a faint blush on her cheeks. “I joined up with a social club several months ago. I thought it might help me improve my interpersonal communication skills. It’s just a group of spacers; we meet up at the Citadel and sometimes other places, with the goal of making it less difficult for space faring folk to form lasting relationships.” </p><p>Shepard’s brow rose skyward. “Oh! That’s awesome, Liara!” </p><p>Being an archaeologist on a planet obsessed with the future, Liara had spent the majority of her life alone, scoping out and scouring sites that most others had long since lost interest in. As such, she had often had trouble simply communicating, let alone socializing and forming relationships with others. And here on the <em> Normandy </em>, she was alone among humans, the latest race to join the galactic stage. This meant she knew even less of human customs than what little she did of her own. She was getting along well now, but it had been difficult for her, at first.</p><p>“Has it been going well?”</p><p>A small smile formed on her face. “It has. I’ve been enjoying myself.”</p><p>“I’m glad to hear that.”</p><p>She nodded. “Is it alright if I join you in about... twenty minutes? There’s a few things I need to take care of before we leave for lunch, if you’re still willing to go.”</p><p>“Of course.” Shepard nodded. “Is it alright if I invite Garrus too?”</p><p>Liara’s pleasant expression faded. “I know what you’re trying to do. And I appreciate it. But it’s just… Shepard, you know I don’t do well with forced socialization. The club I attend now <em> is </em> going well, but it certainly didn’t at first. And <em> that </em>was entirely my choice.”</p><p>Shepard winced. “Right. Sorry about that. Let’s just go together. You and me.”</p><p>“I didn’t say that,” she replied, her voice quiet. </p><p>She sighed, looking down at her hands. “I know you’re right. I do need to get to know Garrus before we stand together in a mission or in battle, but…”</p><p>She looked up into Shepard’s eyes, guilt wracking her features. “I think I hate him.”</p><p>Shepard’s brows involuntarily arched upwards, but she tried her best to maintain a straight face. She didn’t want to inadvertently pass judgement on her. “Really? Why is that?”</p><p>Liara sank in her seat, holding her temples in her hands. “I don’t know. I… really don’t know. There’s just something I can’t stand about him. I don’t know what it is, but… there is something about him that bothers me.”</p><p>“Do you think talking to him might help?” Shepard asked gently.  </p><p>She leaned forward and rested her chin in her palms for a moment, considering. “It might. Maybe this feeling is unfounded or irrational; perhaps it will go away if I simply have enough interactions with him. But right now, I just… I really don’t want to talk to him.”</p><p>“Then you don’t have to,” Shepard pointed out. </p><p>“Yes, but…” she turned to her, her brow resolute, “if I think about it, I felt the same when I first joined my group. I dreaded it, meeting all those new people at once. After the first meeting, I seriously considered quitting it immediately. But I’m glad I didn’t. I made friends I never would have thought I’d make. Maybe... the same could happen for Garrus too.”</p><p>“Maybe,” Shepard agreed. “I guess it’d be good then that you can’t stay for long. That way, it’s only a small dose of discomfort.”</p><p>“That’s a good point,” she acknowledged. </p><p>Shortly afterwards though, her gaze fell and another guilty look crossed her face. “I probably shouldn’t have confided this in you. I know you seem to like him, and here, I’ve done nothing but sour that by unloading my selfish impressions of him on you. I don’t even have anything to back up these thoughts; they’re just… selfish.”</p><p>“Selfish? Selfish how?” </p><p>“Well, like I said, my feelings towards him, they’re just that, feelings. Not facts. I’m just being petty, I think.”</p><p>Shepard shrugged. “That’s okay. Everyone gets a little petty sometimes. And it’s not good to completely ignore your intuition. Sometimes you just get a bad hunch about someone. It’s not really anything to be ashamed of, and there are plenty of times when it’s worth it to trust your gut. At least, that’s how I’ve felt about my own experiences.”</p><p>“Still, it’d probably be better if I gathered some evidence to support my theory,” Liara smirked. “As a scientist, this is quite unbecoming of me, isn’t it?”  </p><p>Shepard chuckled. “Well then, I guess you’d better get to work.”</p><p>“I will,” she replied with a small laugh.</p><p>“Well, I’ll go and invite Garrus, and then we can all meet up near the elevator in twenty. Sound good?”</p><p>“Yes,” she nodded, closing her laptop, “I’ll see you then.”</p><p>Shepard crossed into the mess hall before pausing to open her omni-tool. She apparently had a message from Garrus, sent a few minutes ago.</p><p>
  <em> gv: commander </em>
</p><p>
  <em> shep: ye </em>
</p><p>
  <em> gv: I was hoping we could talk? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> shep: me too, where u at </em>
</p><p>
  <em> gv: lounge </em>
</p><p>
  <em> shep: omw </em>
</p><p>When Shepard entered the lounge, there were several crewmates milling around, most of them with a drink in hand. Garrus was seated near the end of the least populated sofa, a steaming drink in one hand and an old, retro-looking magazine open on his lap. He looked up at the sound of the door and nodded to her in greeting. Then he started staring at her dress. “Ah, Commander. You like fashion too?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah… Sort of.” She slowly approached, unnerved by his persistent gaze. “I mean, I don’t keep up with trends or anything like that, but I do like to look good in my own way.” </p><p>She stopped just before the seat beside him, gazing at him in turn. “Why? Do you like the color yellow? Or asymmetry?”</p><p>“Asymm--?” He looked perplexed, until his eyes trailed down to the hem. “Oh. I see. The bottom is asymmetrical.”  </p><p>“You didn’t even notice?” Shepard raised an eyebrow, her fists settling on her hips. “Is there something <em> else </em>you’re staring at?”</p><p>He startled. “I-I didn’t mean to stare, Commander! It’s just that I’ve been looking at this fashion magazine Wrex lent me, and… I suppose I got carried away. I apologize.”</p><p>“Is that so?” She glanced down at his magazine, and sure enough, it looked like a basic department store catalog. She supposed it wasn’t all that surprising that Wrex wouldn’t have collected high-end fashion spreads. But where he managed to get his hands on a printed version was beyond her. </p><p>“Well then, something must have caught your eye. So go ahead, spill it.”</p><p>Garrus glanced at the drink in his hand. “Um… no. I don’t know about human customs, but I think that would be a bad idea.”</p><p>“I meant that you should just tell me what you think.”</p><p>“Oh. Well then, I think your clothes match many of the better ones I’ve seen in this magazine. It makes your waist look... quite good.” He finally said and nodded, as if satisfied with his description. </p><p>“Oh. Um… thank you. I think.” She plopped down on the seat beside him, rather stunned. She honestly hadn’t expected an answer like that.</p><p>“Uh, anyway,” Shepard reminded herself, “I was planning to go out to lunch with Liara today. Did you want to join us?”</p><p>He looked a bit surprised. “I, ah… I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn’t want to intrude…”</p><p>“You wouldn’t be,” she assured him. “Liara and I both agreed that it’d be good for building up our team’s rapport. It’s better to get to know one another now, when there <em> aren’t </em>bullets flying at us.”</p><p>“You have a point there,” he acknowledged. “Alright. I would be happy to join. Thank you.”</p><p>He closed up the magazine. “Should we leave now, or…?”</p><p>“Not yet. Liara needed a few minutes first,” Shepard acknowledged and checked the time. “In the meantime, you said you had something you wanted to discuss?”</p><p>“Well, yes... but I’m afraid the topic is a bit too heavy for a few minutes’ time.”</p><p>Shepard’s brow furrowed. “Is something wrong?”</p><p>“No, not at all. It’s just complicated and would take some time to explain. That’s all.”</p><p>“Alright then. We can talk about it afterwards.”</p><p>Garrus turned back to the magazine, looking over the models carefully. “You know, I’m quite jealous. Humans have so much variety when it comes to clothing. Especially for women.”</p><p>“Turians don’t?”</p><p>He shook his head. “One of the drawbacks of a militaristic culture, I suppose.”</p><p>“Maybe you could change that. If some of these looks inspire you, you could try making your own clothes.”</p><p>“I could never be that creative,” he muttered, still absorbed in the pictures. </p><p>“I mean, look at this.” He flipped back a few pages before showing her a page full of women in their underwear. “I could never even imagine wearing something like that.”</p><p>“Uh… that’s underwear.”</p><p>“Under… what?”</p><p>She froze, a grimace stuck on her face. “You’re shitting me, right?”</p><p>He didn’t answer right away, apparently listening to additional translations. “Wait. Humans wear clothes <em> under </em>their clothes?”</p><p>“You mean turians <em> don’t </em>?” </p><p>They didn’t need to answer those questions. The looks on their faces were enough.  </p><p>“Let’s... never mention this again,” Shepard suggested.</p><p>“Good idea.” He quickly flipped back to his original place. “I noticed human men do not have as many options as the women. Why is that?”</p><p>“Good question. I’ve always wondered that myself.”</p><p>“The men’s range of colors is rather limited too. The women will wear any color, but the men hardly ever do. Even turians have more colors available to them than human men do.”</p><p>That was right. She remembered seeing a turian man in the market once wearing bright pink. Though she had been busy at the time, she had stopped to compliment him on it. He had seemed puzzled by her reaction but ultimately didn’t question it; just thanked her awkwardly and moved on. Looking back on it now, he probably thought she was strange, getting all excited over something that was probably quite ordinary in his perspective. </p><p>“So, Wrex lent you that catalog, huh?” Shepard asked. “I have to admit, I’m a little surprised he just handed it over. Normally he’s a bit more stubborn and guarded when it comes to his stuff.”</p><p>“Yeah, I felt the same, honestly. When he first offered to lend me some of these guides, I initially turned him down. He obviously likes these enough to collect them, so I didn’t want to interfere with his passions. But he insisted, and I <em> was </em>admittedly quite curious about what he finds so interesting about human fashion, so I decided to take him up on his offer. And now, I can see he was right. These styles are indeed fascinating.” He turned the page. “Oh. More underwear.”</p><p>Actually he was looking at lingerie now. Shepard was about to tell him so, when a sudden idea struck her. </p><p>She knew Wrex had a collection of fashion magazines. But she highly doubted the entire collection revolved around human styles exclusively. </p><p>As she watched Garrus look over the human women in their lingerie, she realized what exactly was happening here...</p><p>In her mind’s eye, a chibi Wrex grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. <em> You can thank me later! </em></p><p>“Wait a minute.” Garrus looked up, concerned. “Is human underwear clothing meant to be seen? Is it impolite for me to look at it? Oh, wait. No, Wrex looks at it, so it must be fine…” </p><p>He looked over at Shepard, who was now barely containing a silly grin. “What?”</p><p>“It’s totally fine to look at… if you’re a creep.”</p><p>He closed the magazine and sighed, his posture drooping. “Shepard, I’m sorry. I had no intention of being disrespectful...”</p><p>She laughed, waving it off. “Hey! Relax! You didn’t even know it existed five minutes ago... I was only messing around, actually. Seriously... it’s fine.”</p><p>“Well, now that I’m... fully educated on the matter, I think it’d be for the best to avoid them.” </p><p>He set the magazine aside for a new one. He quickly paged through it, only to discover that the entire issue was an underwear edition. “I’m starting to think Wrex doesn’t know any better either.”</p><p>
  <em> Yeah, I’m going to take a “no” on that one. </em>
</p><p>Shepard rose to leave. “We should probably go and meet up with Liara now.”</p><p>~~1~~</p><p>They ultimately decided to visit a place of Liara’s choosing, an asari restaurant within the Presidium. </p><p>“This is my favorite,” Liara told them. “The food here reminds me of home.”</p><p>“Were you born on Thessia?” Garrus asked.</p><p>“Indeed. I haven’t visited in ages though.”</p><p>Shepard looked around. This place seemed quite a bit more upscale than anywhere she’d been to for a long time. She vaguely wondered if Garrus looked out of place here, dressed in armor and all. But it was only lunchtime, so she doubted anyone would be pissy enough at this hour to raise hell over it. And actually, the place was mostly empty at the moment.</p><p>The windows were large and covered in sheer, lacy curtains. The windows would have made it rather bright, but the fabric managed to block much of the intensity of the outdoor lighting, even though its sheerness looked as if it couldn’t do much of anything to stop it. </p><p>Most of the tables were round and seated four. The furniture was thin and spindly, but it held strong; the material, although entirely unfamiliar to Shepard, appeared to be rather durable. She wondered how well it’d handle Wrex. </p><p>After settling into place, she brightened. Finally a chair where she could reach the floor without having to sit near the edge of her seat! </p><p>Garrus, meanwhile, slowly and awkwardly sat down, careful to avoid knocking into the table with his legs. </p><p>“Ah! By the goddess, Garrus!” Liara startled. “I didn’t realize; we can move to another--”</p><p>“I’m fine,” he assured her, carefully adjusting his legs beneath the table. </p><p>They took a few minutes to gaze over the menu in silence. It was written in a pretty script, but that didn’t mean Shepard was able to read any of it. <em> Galactic Standard Language, my ass.  </em></p><p>“Dr. T’Soni,” Garrus began, “I have a question for you, if you don’t mind me asking.”</p><p>A look of unease crossed her face. “What is it?”</p><p>“I was looking over some of the files Commander Shepard had given me on the crew, and when I came across yours, it seemed as if you haven’t had any formal combat training… Well, other than basic biotic training offered from primary school, of course. But there’s no mention at all of any firearms training. Surely there is something missing in the…?”</p><p>“No, that is correct,” she replied. “I suppose you could say I’m self-taught.”</p><p>“So you really have no formalized training?” Garrus blinked, stupefied. “Not even… say, a mentor’s guidance?”</p><p>“In my line of work, I learned quickly that there are many out there who would rather sell historical artifacts than preserve them. If I wanted to protect my discoveries, I realized I would need to defend them with my life. And so I trained myself to use a gun and honed my biotic skills on a daily basis. It was either that, or lose my progress, or even my life.”</p><p>Now Garrus looked from Liara to Shepard. “You brought along a self-taught biotic to fight against three of the most notorious mercenary organizations in the galaxy?”</p><p>Her jaw tightened. “My crew... used to be larger.”</p><p>He was skeptical. “I remember Councillor Udina saying that you could have your pick from any of the soldiers of the Alliance to join you.”</p><p>“Yeah, but I’m not the one who really does the choosing. And I’m not taking anyone he picks.”</p><p>“I can see that, but that mission was extremely dangerous.” He was starting to look increasingly irritated with her. She vaguely wondered if (or maybe <em> when </em>) he would start chewing her out like he did Executor Pallin. “You put Dr. T’Soni’s life in jeopardy over something she isn’t qualified to handle.”</p><p>Shepard leaned back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest. “Well, that’s what I have <em> you </em>for now.”</p><p>“Oh, I’m ready for it,” he countered. “But my point still stands. You took a huge risk, sending her on such a mission. Why didn’t you take one of the Councillor’s soldiers along, even for just that one assignment? Hell, even hiring a mercenary would have--”</p><p>“I need people I can trust,” she shot back, finding his defiance much less amusing now. He really only had about half the story, and here he was, telling her what to do as if he knew everything there was to know about the matter. “I’d rather be ill-equipped than stabbed in the back.”</p><p>He took a breath to speak but quickly shut his mouth. He gazed down at the table before him, his posture steadily drooping.</p><p>That’s when she realized...</p><p>Sidonis. </p><p>She bit her lip, immediately regretting her words. “Um. I mean… What I meant to say is… the Alliance isn’t, ah… Well, it’s… it’s a long story.”</p><p>She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Um… I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to… ah, get carried away like that.”</p><p>Liara looked between the two of them, concerned. She hadn’t expected the conversation to take such a turn. “Shepard…” she murmured. “Is everything... alright?”</p><p>“Yeah,” she said softly. “It’s fine.”</p><p>Garrus looked up from the table and rested his hands on his lap so his slumping posture was less noticeable. </p><p>“Shepard, I’m starting to get concerned,” Liara regarded her carefully, although her eyes occasionally shifted to rest on Garrus as well. “You haven’t quite seemed like yourself lately. Have you been feeling alright?”</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>“Um… are you… sleeping well?”</p><p>“Well enough.” She shrugged. “Why? Do I have bags under my eyes or something?”</p><p>“Bags?” Liara repeated, looking downright perplexed. </p><p>“Never mind,” Shepard responded, sheepish. “Ah--anyway, what makes you ask?”</p><p>“You just… seem a bit distracted lately,” Liara told her, studying her face intently as if she were one of her artifacts. “You’ve also been rather distant as well. It’s almost like you’re trying to shut me out.”</p><p>She really hated whenever Liara would stare at her like that. It was incredibly unnerving. </p><p>“No,” she drew out the word, waving her hands in a tight motion. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine, really.”</p><p>Now Garrus looked over at her, his expression unreadable, and he didn’t say a thing. </p><p>Damn it. This was truly the worst. When someone just sits there and stares at you, no words, no expression, not even the slightest mandible twitch. </p><p>What the hell did they want from her when they did that? What the hell was she <em> supposed </em>to do in response? Stare back with a blank expression? Damn, that’d be awkward as hell.</p><p>She needed to come up with a new topic of conversation, and fast. Distraction tended to usually… er, almost always work, right?</p><p>But thankfully, she was saved by the server approaching them. Both of her companions ordered something she didn’t recognize, as was quite honestly becoming the norm these days. Like the copycat that she was, she ordered the same as Liara. </p><p>After the server left, an awkward silence befell them, while Shepard wildly wracked her brain for something to talk about.</p><p>Garrus began to play with his hands before finally steeling himself to speak. “Um… Dr. T’Soni? Are you… interested in fashion?”</p><p>“Fashion?” Liara echoed, her brow lifting in apparent confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t know much about that.”</p><p>“Oh.” He looked over the table intently for a moment. “Me neither. I believe that is something we have in common.”</p><p>“Ah.” Liara shifted in her seat. “So it seems.”</p><p>Shepard smiled weakly, in an attempt to drown out the painful awkwardness playing out seemingly all around her.</p><p>“Wrex lent me some books about fashion. I could ask him to lend them to you next.”</p><p>“No, thank you. I have no interest in fashion, actually.”</p><p>“Ah.” He took a breath. “Right then.”</p><p>“So, Liara,” Shepard spoke up, finally seizing upon a topic that would keep them busy for a while, “would you tell us about your latest research project?”</p><p>“Oh, um…” she hesitated, looking at Garrus apprehensively. “Are you sure you’d like to hear about that?”</p><p>“Ah, of course.” Garrus nodded. “I’m sure it must be fascinating.”</p><p>She brightened. “Well then, I’d be happy to explain…”</p><p>Liara tended to have difficulty maintaining interest during many idle conversations, but when she was allowed the rare opportunity to talk at length about her research, she truly shined. It was without question she loved her work, and it truly saddened Shepard that she hadn’t found many people who shared in her love of the field. Others aboard the <em> Normandy </em>would indulge her from time to time, but it was clear none held the same passion she had. </p><p>Thankfully, Liara’s ensuing monologue seemed to work well for Garrus too. This way, he didn’t need to come up with a topic of conversation, as Liara clearly already had it handled. Now, he was free to simply ask questions, a task which aligned well with his sense of curiosity. </p><p>Actually, this turn of conversation was going a lot better than Shepard could have ever imagined. Now Liara had someone to talk to, and Garrus didn’t have to grasp for straws, scrounging for something to say before accidentally shoving his whole foot into his mouth.</p><p>The conversation died quickly once the food arrived though, since it was delicious. The dish Liara had chosen was light and delicate, but yet, it was surprisingly still quite filling. In that way, it vaguely reminded Shepard of sushi. No wonder it was Liara’s favorite. </p><p>This time, Garrus looked to be eating pumpkins. Just little tiny ones, though. </p><p>“Don’t tell me that’s some kind of meat again,” Shepard frowned. </p><p>Garrus smirked, in spite of himself, “It is.”</p><p>“It’s not the right color!” she insisted.</p><p>“You always say that.”</p><p>“That’s because I’m right!”</p><p>“You’ve never really seen dextro food before, have you, Shepard?” Liara questioned.</p><p>“I mean, I saw Tali eat… sometimes.” </p><p>“Who’s Tali?” Garrus wondered aloud.</p><p>“My former tech expert.”</p><p>“Not a turian, I’m assuming?”</p><p>“No, a quarian.”</p><p>“A quarian?” His brows rose. </p><p>“Yeah. You seem... surprised?”</p><p>“Well, it’s just… it’s unusual for a quarian to settle down on one ship for long.”</p><p>“Is it?”</p><p>“I mean… Surely they weren’t with you for long?”</p><p>“She was with me for over a year.” </p><p>His brows lifted again.</p><p>Shepard regarded him, unimpressed. “Is there something odd about what I said?”</p><p>“Well, yes. Quarians aren’t known to stay in one place for very long. They’re vagabonds, as you know.”</p><p>“Excuse me? She was on her pilgrimage.”</p><p>“Oh, I see.”</p><p>“<em> Do </em>you?”</p><p>He blinked. “You seem angry.”</p><p>“Oh, <em> do </em>I?”</p><p>“Yes…” he faltered. “But I’m not sure why?”</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know,” she scoffed, sarcastic. “Maybe it has something to do with the racist bullshit you just said about my friend’s people?”</p><p>He blinked rapidly. “I-I didn’t…”</p><p>“The <em> vagabonds </em>who can’t be expected to live in one place for long?”</p><p>“Damn.” He slumped. “Okay. That... wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve said today.”</p><p>Shepard didn’t respond.</p><p>He straightened, scratching his face. “I’ve been… trying to unlearn some of the things I was raised to believe. Clearly, I still have some work to do.”</p><p>“Please do. You'll never be able to truly see anyone for who they are with that cloud of bias."</p><p>At that moment, a couple walked into the restaurant. But it wasn’t just any couple; it was actually Saren and Matriarch Benezia. Shepard waved at them, a gesture which Saren met with a glare. </p><p>Ah, to be acquaintances with one of the most renowned Spectres…</p><p>“Isn’t that Saren?” Garrus asked, keeping his voice in an undertone. </p><p>“You know it,” Shepard confirmed, while Liara surreptitiously turned to steal a glance for herself.   </p><p>“Why were you greeting him like you know him?”</p><p>“Because I do!” She stopped to consider. “Well, I mean we’re not, like, friends or anything. But I <em> do </em> know him. I know <em> of </em>him.”</p><p>Garrus’ brow furrowed in confusion. “Assuming my memory is correct, didn’t you call him a shitty son of a bitch... or something like that?”</p><p>“A salty little bitch,” Shepard corrected. “Yeah, I remember.” </p><p>“Ah. So it must be that human expression: ‘keep your enemies close’? I think?”</p><p>“Nah,” Shepard shook her head. “It’s nothing like that. Saren hates me. So I like to pretend we’re friends. That makes him <em> more </em>pissed.”</p><p>“You just said you <em> weren’t </em>friends though.”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s why I <em> pretend </em>we’re on good terms. It actually makes for some pretty good trolling.”</p><p>“Oh,” he intoned, but it didn’t sound like he actually understood what she meant. “I don’t recognize the asari with him. Is she also a Spectre?”</p><p>Liara nervously played with the last of her food. “No, that is Matriarch Benezia, his lead officer. She’s also... my mother.”</p><p>“Oh.” Garrus looked surprised. “Aren’t you going to greet her?”</p><p>“There’s no point.” She didn’t look up from her food. “She and I haven’t spoken in ages.”</p><p>“I’m sorry to hear that.” Garrus wrung his hands. “I didn’t intend to... bring up old wounds.”</p><p>“It’s not painful per se, just… awkward.”</p><p>“Relatable.” Shepard nodded solemnly. </p><p>As it was, Saren began loudly talking about humans, how awful their lifestyles were, how squishy and ugly their bodies looked, how terrible they were at, well, everything, and just how shitty they were in general. </p><p>What a guy, that Saren.</p><p>“What the hell?” Garrus regarded him, perplexed. “What is he… <em> talking </em>about?”</p><p>“I assume he’s still upset over the First Contact War, against humanity,” Liara shrugged. “I don’t really know how my mother stands it.”</p><p>“I know how I stand it.” Shepard waited until Saren made eye contact with her and winked at him. Yet another uniquely human gesture. </p><p>He fucking hated that. </p><p>“With good, old fashioned, <em> human </em>hospitality.”</p><p>“What?” Now Garrus looked at her, baffled. “You can’t be serious.”</p><p>“Hardly at all,” Shepard smirked. “But maybe a little. I mean, don’t get me wrong; he’s cranky as hell, but he <em> does </em>have mad skill. It’s just too bad his attitude smells worse than a sack of shit.”</p><p>Liara frowned at her for her choice of words. They were in the middle of eating, after all.</p><p>“Uh… I’m sorry,” she apologized, sheepish.  </p><p>Liara glanced at the time. “Ah, I should head out.”</p><p>“You ready, Garrus? If so, we’ll join you.” </p><p>“Ready.” He nodded. </p><p>They had nearly passed Saren’s table without incident before he abruptly lashed out. Just a small biotic wave, not enough to seriously maim, but definitely enough force to knock people over. He would have succeeded if not for Liara. She blocked him with a wave of her own, nullifying them both with a spark of power. </p><p>“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped, moving to stand before her companions. He wasn’t going to attack them again on her watch. “You could have injured someone.”</p><p>“Ah.” One of Saren’s mandibles twitched, in the tiniest semblance of a smirk. “I was merely using my discretion as a Spectre. Shepard would understand. It’s apparently a standard tactic in the human playbook, after all.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Garrus questioned.</p><p>Saren looked at him in apparent disgust. “<em> Who </em>are you again?”</p><p>Garrus’ mandibles clacked against his face, but he didn’t answer.</p><p>“Ah, that’s right.” Saren held up a hand, examining his talons carefully. “<em> Failed </em>C-Sec officer, a Spectre for about five minutes, a murderous rogue wanted by the Council, a shitty vigilante… Didn’t you nearly die?” </p><p>Shepard bristled, but Saren merely held up a hand to silence her. </p><p>“Whatever. It hardly matters,” he continued, his voice without inflection, as if he were already bored with them. “Now, you’re nothing more than an errand boy serving the enemy. A damn slave. Try not to spill too many secrets regarding the Hierarchy. We can’t have <em> that </em> now, can we?</p><p>“Oh, wait,” he chuckled haughtily. “As if <em> you’d </em>hold knowledge of any import.”</p><p>Garrus merely regarded him, his expression unreadable, while Shepard’s jaw tightened. </p><p>It was one thing, going after her. She was honestly pretty used to it coming from him, at this point. But it was another entirely to go after her crew.</p><p>“Did you have a fucking point, or are you just looking to insult my people?” she seethed.  </p><p>A brow plate lifted. “Ah, that’s new. The ‘great’ Commander Shepard, losing her calm? I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, but I wonder what might have triggered such a sudden change?”</p><p>Shepard bared her teeth in a positively evil smile. “Oh, I’m just taking my cues from the best. Isn’t it nearly every other day that <em> you </em> lose <em> your </em>cool?”</p><p>Saren hissed in response. </p><p>This wasn’t uncommon. The man was used to throwing fits when things didn’t go his way, not not at all unlike an unruly baby. At least he wasn’t thrashing around… yet.</p><p>Liara spoke up. “Shepard, this conversation is going nowhere. I think it’s time we leave.”</p><p>“Yes, leave.” Benezia finally broke her silence. “You are ruining our date.”</p><p>Garrus turned to her. “Are you serious? <em> He’s </em> the one who tried to attack us with a wave of biotic--”</p><p>She held up a hand to silence him, her expression furious. “<em> Leave </em>.”</p><p>Saren’s tone was saccharine. “Take care on your way out.”</p><p>“Meh.” Shepard waved him off. </p><p>Like Liara had said, he wasn’t worth the headache.</p><p>She had only barely taken a single step forward when a small, yet incredibly focused, biotic burst struck her ankle. She lost her balance, and if it weren’t for a nearby table, she likely would have fallen straight to the ground.</p><p>“Shepard? You okay?” Garrus went to check on her, while Liara rounded on Saren.</p><p>He was laughing. “What was that human saying? Two left feet? Turns out it’s quite accurate.”</p><p>Liara had had enough. With a cry, she flung a wave of energy at him, only for it to bounce off a powerful biotic forcefield. </p><p>She froze. There was no way he had had enough time to erect that…</p><p>Matriarch Benezia slowly rose to her feet, her eyes glowing with biotic power. As a biotic who had spent centuries training, her abilities were far beyond that of Saren and Liara. And it didn’t take much for her to use them. </p><p>Without so much as a noise of effort, she created a mass effect field, one that mimicked the effects of a black hole. Accordingly, Liara, Shepard, and Garrus were drawn to it, forced to literally float in the air, thanks to its powerful gravitational pull. </p><p>Flaring her biotic powers, Liara struggled to free herself to no avail, while Shepard shrieked, trying her best to keep her dress from flipping upside down. Meanwhile, Garrus just resigned himself to his fate. There wasn’t much a non-biotic could do against biotics, short of firing guns at them. That sort of action tended to be frowned upon within restaurants.</p><p>Several nearby chairs began to slide towards them, drawn in by the gravitational pull. Thankfully, they weren’t heavy nor close enough to actually join them.</p><p>Focused, Benezia slowly encouraged her miniature black hole to fly backwards to deposit them at the door. The moment her creation reached the threshold, she released them, dropping them all to the ground in a heap. </p><p>Meanwhile, the server had just finished taking the order of some customers seated outside the restaurant. She reached the door, only to find a small pile of customers lying on the ground before her. She awkwardly watched as they collectively groaned and attempted to disentangle themselves from one another. </p><p>“Um… thank you for stopping by! Have a... nice day?” </p><p>She carefully stepped around the trio and headed back inside. </p><p>“Ow…” Shepard grumbled, still half-crushing Garrus. Meanwhile he just laid there, utterly sprawled out on the ground and thankful that he had armor on to protect himself from the impact of the fall.</p><p>Liara finally freed herself and snapped to attention, facing off against her mother. “How <em> dare </em>you--!”</p><p>She was cut off by another wave of energy, this time propelling them straight off the restaurant’s property entirely. One last wave slammed the door shut after them.</p><p>“The nerve of that woman!” Liara exclaimed, furious.</p><p>Garrus rolled away to avoid crushing any of them. “Is everyone okay?”</p><p>“I’m fine…” Shepard sat up, rubbing her ankle. “I can’t believe they attacked us.”</p><p>“I know. It was completely uncalled for.” Liara offered her hands to Shepard, and they rose together. </p><p>“What was it that Saren had said initially? Something about using his discretion as a Spectre?” Garrus wondered aloud, rising to his feet.</p><p>Shepard winced when she placed her weight on the leg Saren had essentially tripped. “Yeah… that was the defense I gave the Council for explaining why I didn’t go after you.”</p><p>The three shared a look, and they knew they were all thinking the same thing: hopefully her defense to the Council wouldn’t come back to bite them in the ass. </p><p>If it ever came down to it, Shepard honestly wouldn’t want to engage in a physical confrontation with Saren. He was immensely powerful, not only as a biotic but also as a combat specialist. He was skilled in the use of pistols too, but more often than not, he didn’t even need to use them.</p><p>Even after the application of plenty of intense strength training, many turians tended to remain thin and bony, like Garrus, but Saren, on the other hand, had a frame thick with muscle. She had long suspected his fits of rage were connected to steroid use, and judging by his size compared to the average turian, it wasn’t a stretch to believe it. </p><p>Whether or not her suspicions rang true, he definitely wasn’t someone to be trifled with, to be certain.</p><p>“Oh! Liara?” Shepard recalled. “Don’t you need to meet up with your group?”</p><p>“Ah, that’s right.” She startled, looking about herself before taking note of the stairwell leading down to the plaza. “They should be waiting for me just down below.” She bade them goodbye before heading off. </p><p>Garrus moved to lean on the railing ahead of them, and Shepard followed suit. She looked down below to see politicians scattered about, either resting or scurrying along, all dressed with sleek elegance. And then her eyes fell on a drell woman. She stood out from the crowd in her dark, worn cloak. Shepard hadn’t looked at her for but a moment before she returned her gaze, her dark eyes boring into her own as if she could study her very soul.</p><p>Shepard could never quite shake the fact that drell people looked like the notorious “fish man” monster from old Earth movies. She hadn’t seen many of them in real life before, but she knew how to fight them, thanks to her military training. Drell muscles were more wiry than humans’, so this meant even a smaller sized drell could easily overpower a larger human, given equal training and conditions. Most that left Kahje knew how to fight, so they usually weren’t to be underestimated. </p><p>Fear steadily coursed through Shepard’s veins; the drell’s gaze felt eerily similar to having been spotted by a sniper, one who already had her skull lined up in her scope. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Garrus asked, turning to her.</p><p>Shepard didn’t break eye contact with the drell, but it wasn’t long before she disappeared within the crowd. Shepard looked around carefully, but she couldn’t find a trace of her after that. It was almost like she had vanished into thin air. </p><p>“Um…” She turned to Garrus, who was still awaiting an answer. “It’s nothing; it’s just… I thought I saw someone…” </p><p>“You saw someone?” Garrus looked down below. “Well, there’s Dr. T’Soni.”</p><p>Shepard followed his gaze, and to her astonishment, Liara was talking with the very drell in question. They chatted for a moment before walking off together. Alone.</p><p>“That’s strange.” Garrus blinked, puzzled. “I thought she said she was meeting with a group of people?”</p><p>Shepard froze in place. She had a terrible feeling about this. </p><p>“Commander? ...Commander?” </p><p>She could vaguely hear Garrus calling her, but it felt like time had stood still. </p><p>Liara was not safe. She just knew it.</p><p>She pulled off her sandals, pesky things had small heels so she knew they would only slow her down, and ran for the stairwell to go after her. She quickly realized there was definitely something wrong with her ankle now, but she ignored the pain, favoring her other leg as much as possible in the meantime. She had to reach Liara. </p><p>Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she looked around, frantic. She could just barely see Liara, far off in the distance. She took a breath before running off again, barely managing to dodge some of the denser crowds of politicians. </p><p>“Liara!” Once she got within a few meters of her, Shepard began to call out for her attention. But the damn noise from others in the area only served to drown her out. </p><p>It wasn’t until she was within a meter of her before Liara finally turned around. “Shepard?”</p><p>Shepard glomped her, reveling in the fact that she was here, and she was safe. “Liara…”</p><p>“Shepard?” Liara awkwardly returned the hug, although she was confused as hell. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Dr. T’Soni!” Garrus had caught up to them as well. “I don’t understand. Where is your group? When we saw you alone with somebody, we… Well, we got concerned.”</p><p>That’s right. Shepard looked around, only to discover that the drell was gone. Nowhere to be seen.</p><p>Liara looked away from them. “I’m sorry. I haven’t… Well, I haven’t been entirely honest.”</p><p>Shepard moved away from her, her eyes wide. “Liara? What’s…?”</p><p>Liara turned back to where the drell had been, only to discover she was missing.</p><p>“Satya?” She called out for her again, louder this time, as she looked around for her. “I don’t understand… They were--”</p><p>“Liara,” Shepard broke in, concerned. “What’s going on?”</p><p>Just then, a spasm of pain shot down her leg, nearly causing her to stumble.</p><p>“Shepard? Are you--?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” she assured her, shifting most of her weight on her good leg. “Now please, tell me; who is that woman? The drell? Where was she taking you?”</p><p>Liara frowned. “Satya is nonbinary, actually. And they weren’t taking me anywhere unseemly. I’ve… Well, I’ve been dating them for a few weeks now. Long distance, of course. Today was supposed to be… Well, it was going to be our first date.”</p><p>Shepard was flabbergasted. “Why didn’t you--?”</p><p>Liara held out her hands to placate her. “I’m sorry, Shepard, but I wanted to be sure. I didn’t want to tell anyone until I--until I felt sure we were…”</p><p>“Dr. T’Soni, this--” Garrus spoke up, but the moment the words left his mouth, he seemed to think better of it. “Ah… I mean, not to intrude, but… this is incredibly concerning. Why did you feel the need to keep this relationship a secret? And where is Satya now? This... is…” he trailed off, upon seeing tears well up in Liara’s eyes.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to deceive anyone,” she paused to take a breath, gathering herself. “Here; just… let me explain. Satya, they were just... They were a new member of my social group, just like I was. That’s how we met. We were drawn to each other immediately because we were both new to this. And since our relationship is still so new, I figured it wasn’t worth it to tell anyone yet. I just… well, I’m not very…” she paused to wipe away a tear that had escaped from her eyes. </p><p>She took another deep breath to steady herself. “I’m sorry. I know. I’m not very good with relationships. After the last time… I knew… that I should...” She stopped, hiding her face in her hands.</p><p>A heavy weight of guilt sunk into Shepard’s stomach. Liara’s latest attempt at a relationship most likely meant her. </p><p>It had been awkward as hell, Liara assuming Shepard was interested in a romantic relationship, while Shepard actually had no clue she had even been considering the idea at all. It really came out of nowhere, around a year ago, shortly after she had become a fully fledged Spectre and nearly a week or two after they had first met. </p><p>After Shepard had rejected her, Liara had flown into a tizzy, frantically apologizing for her lack of decorum. The frantic apologies only served to make the awkward situation, well… all the more awkward, furthering both Liara’s shame and Shepard’s guilt and embarrassment. </p><p>Even to this day, Shepard still felt guilty over it; had she accidentally led her on without realizing it? </p><p>As it stood, Shepard wasn’t the best when it came to relationships either, and the last thing she had wanted to do was hurt Liara’s feelings. It had taken them quite some time for them both to get over their collective awkwardness after that encounter. Shepard had hoped Liara had moved on from that time, but it seemed now that it still haunted her to this day. </p><p>Cue even more guilt.  </p><p>“Dr. T’Soni…” Garrus gently held out a hand towards Liara but declined from actually touching her. “I wasn’t trying to chide you, I just… Well, this sort of relationship concerns me because it sounds like it might be abusive.”</p><p>“Abusive?” Liara looked up at him, her eyes tearstained. “How could you say that? Satya has been nothing but good to me. If anyone’s to blame here, it’s me.”</p><p>“Um…” Garrus scratched his face. “That’s just it. I’ve been trained in spotting red flags, and… well, demanding the relationship be kept secret is one of them. And um, blaming yourself for everything… that too, is--”</p><p>“Satya didn’t demand anything. I decided to keep the relationship a secret myself.” Liara’s brow furrowed stubbornly. “And besides, it’s not exactly mandatory for me to disclose such things. I can keep my personal life to myself.” </p><p>“Of course you can. That’s perfectly fine,” Garrus agreed. “Um, so where is your partner now? Why did they leave all of a sudden?”</p><p>“I don’t know…” </p><p>Another painful spasm traveled down Shepard’s leg, ending abruptly at her still-aching ankle. She couldn’t help but inhale sharply as her posture weakened. </p><p>“Shepard?” Liara moved closer to her and held her elbow to help ensure she kept her balance. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”</p><p>She couldn’t hold this off any longer. “It’s my ankle. I think something might have happened to it when Saren tripped me.”</p><p>Suddenly realizing she was still barefoot, she dropped her sandals to the ground and slipped them back on her feet.</p><p>“We should take you to see Dr. Michel,” Garrus suggested.    </p><p>Shepard turned to Liara, uncertain. </p><p>She nodded. “I can message Satya on the way to the clinic.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Feron</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A routine visit to the hospital takes a turn for the unexpected.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“This will prevent further swelling,” Dr. Michel told her as she finished wrapping the ankle in a bandage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard tested her range of movement. It certainly wasn’t very far.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll want to rest,” she said immediately. “Keep it elevated, if you can. Use ice every few hours if you need to, and you should be fine by tomorrow.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard thanked her, and the doctor nodded. She then started to expound upon the nuances of ankles and why they were so likely to get injured. Shepard was about to tell her she already knew this, until she realized the doctor’s words were actually meant for Garrus’ benefit, not her own. Why he would actually need to know any of this stuff was beyond her, but apparently Dr. Michel thought it was worthwhile…? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them then left to obtain painkillers for Shepard. All the while, Dr. Michel took the time to explain to him how exactly the medicine worked and how effective it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A jealous streak snaked through her stomach, as Shepard began to question if this was all just the doctor’s way of showing off all her knowledge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard frowned in spite of herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Damn. She really needed to get this silly fangirl crush of hers under control. Archangel was just a persona; he wasn’t actually Garrus himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, at least now it was only her thoughts that were affected. She wasn’t saying or doing anything silly... just yet anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to Liara, who was seated nearby. “Any word from Satya?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liara shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s so strange. Why would they just disappear like that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michel returned and held out a small container. “You can take two of these every six hours to ease the pain. I’ve included six, but you can just come back tomorrow if you need more.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you; this should be just fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard began to reach out and take it when a sudden movement caught her eye. She could have sworn she saw something scuttle across the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then, the room was quickly engulfed in smoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard startled, vaguely feeling as if she were trapped in some kind of strange dream instead of actually living through true reality. She ‘woke up’ quickly, however, once a strong arm wrapped itself around her neck and a hand seized her arm, dragging her down from the hospital bed to the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being pulled around so suddenly and harshly caused her to stumble backwards, into the body of whoever had grabbed her. She felt breasts (or something similar? They were round, at least.) press against her back before they hauled her up to her feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard winced, trying to avoid putting too much weight on her ankle. Too late; a massive spike of pain shot up her leg, causing her to slump back against her captor once again. This time, however, they removed their grip on Shepard’s arm and instead pressed what looked like a knife (no, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a knife; that flash of light was unmistakable) to her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quiet but clear voice hissed near her ear. “Put your arms at your sides.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard didn’t recognize the voice, but she quickly obeyed it once she saw their fingers twitch with anticipation, the glint of the knife following their movements. In response to her compliance, her captor lowered the arm that had been loosely wrapped around her neck to wrap around her and sit just below her chest, effectively pinning her arms to her sides. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t move!” they suddenly barked.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard startled, immediately assuming she was the one being reprimanded. But then she could see the outline of Garrus before them, now that the thick smoke was finally starting to subside. He was holding out his open palms, to show that he was unarmed, but he continued to approach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, that was right. His visor would let him see through the smoke, so he knew she was in danger. And if he was coming for her, that meant Dr. Michel had to already be safe. Knowing that much gave her some relief. She could handle danger; she hated to see civilians ever become involved in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t move, or I’ll kill her!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped. “Let’s talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. We’ll talk when I </span>
  <em>
    <span>say </span>
  </em>
  <span>we’re gonna talk! You got it, asshole? </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one calling the shots here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally the smoke dissipated enough for Shepard to see clearly again. She didn’t dare turn her head to look at her captor, for fear of getting sliced by the knife literally lying against her throat. She could probably break free of the arm wrapped around her, but for now, she didn’t dare move for fear of reprisal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead she watched Garrus, waiting for a cue. If he lunged right when she attempted to break free, she’d probably manage to make it out of this alive. That is, </span>
  <em>
    <span>if </span>
  </em>
  <span>her captor couldn’t be talked down first. As it was, the peaceful option was far less risky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Garrus said, quietly and calmly. “We’ll talk when you’re ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liara moved to look around him, her hands flying to her mouth as she gasped. “Satya!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tears welled up in her eyes as she shook her head. “You can’t--! This isn’t--! No… by the goddess!”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satya (if her captor was truly them) began breathing hard; the sound and their rhythmic swaying unnerving Shepard all the more. What the hell was going on?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Michel. It’s the end of the line,” Satya finally said, drawing the knife even closer to Shepard’s throat, forcing her to lean back to avoid the blade. “We’re going to start killing your patients now, one by one, until you pay up. Starting with this woman.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michel squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, still cowering behind the desk Garrus had likely ushered her behind to protect her. “I don’t… I don’t have enough money. You know that. They just don’t pay me enough to keep up with your demands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want credits?” Garrus shook his head softly, still keeping his eyes on the drell. “Killing patients isn’t the way to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satya shook their head. “This isn’t just any patient. Commander Shepard’s head </span>
  <em>
    <span>might </span>
  </em>
  <span>be worth a little more than your debt. But I would prefer to keep the Council off my ass, if I can help it. Although, in the end, it’s your choice, doctor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How much do you need?” Shepard asked, working hard to keep her voice neutral. “Maybe I can pay it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A transfer won’t do,” Satya insisted. “I need physical credits.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus offered, “We’ll radio our crew. We’ll have someone bring the credits here.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’ll just bring backup. A sniper, most likely.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus didn’t answer right away. But Shepard had a feeling she knew what he was thinking, as she had just now realized the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Satya knew Dr. Michel didn’t have the credits, and they didn’t trust Shepard’s crew to bring any credits here, then what </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>they want here? Probably not to actually kill Shepard, as she could have done so fairly easily before now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Satya, please!” Liara shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had wanted to let Garrus handle this, but she couldn’t stay silent any longer. “This isn’t like you! You wouldn’t--! Why would you do this?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The muscles in Satya’s arm tensed. “Liara… enough. This has nothing to do with you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This has everything to do with me!” Liara insisted. “You’re threatening to kill my best friend! How could you do this?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satya’s hands started shaking. Shepard made a noise of protest, leaning back further to avoid the now-quaking knife.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing an opening, Garrus slightly inched closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t move!” Satya commanded, pressing the knife so close to Shepard that it drew blood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Satya!” Liara shrieked. “Stop!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop</span>
  </em>
  <span> calling me that!” Satya demanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now their limbs were trembling, and Satya tightened her grip around Shepard in an attempt to hide it. But it didn’t hide much, as now Shepard herself was shaking from being pressed so tightly against their quaking form. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Satya’s eyes squeezed shut. “My name is Feron!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was his moment; Garrus lunged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it didn’t matter, as Feron abruptly shoved Shepard at him. Smoke engulfed the room once more as Shepard’s face collided with the chestplate of Garrus’ armor. She nearly saw stars, but that pain paled in comparison to her ankle suddenly being forced to bear her weight again. She would have crumpled to the ground, if not for Garrus, who gripped her arm to steady her. He immediately wrapped his other arm around the back of her skull presumably to shield her. But his concern apparently didn’t last for long, as he soon removed his arm and guided her to support herself with the hospital bed. Once she was fine, he disappeared into the smoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until the smoke had cleared before Shepard could see that he was tending to Dr. Michel. “Where are they?” she called over to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked up at her and shook his head. “Gone. They were too fast; I had no chance of catching up… Dr. Michel, are you sure you’re not hurt?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard…!” Liara practically glomped her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before Shepard felt her tremble from crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, Liara,” Shepard reassured her. “It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re not,” she chided. “You’re bleeding everywhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michel startled. “Let me take a look.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liara finally detached herself from Shepard for the doctor to examine her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luckily, the damage is only superficial...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After things were settled, Dr. Michelle cleaned and bandaged Shepard’s wound with a practiced ease. “I’m very sorry that you were dragged into this…”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the wound was taken care of, Garrus folded his arms, shifted his weight to one leg, and fixed Dr. Michelle with a steady gaze. “How does a doctor wind up with such a debt that someone out there’s willing to kill patients over it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michelle bit her lip, her gaze shifting to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get the feeling it’d be better for you to tell us than for C-Sec to get involved,” he pointed out, his tone guarded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t look up from the ground. “I... crossed the Shadow Broker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio exchanged wary glances. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Shadow Broker was an enigma. No one knew anything about them, but the Shadow Broker  likely knew practically everything about everyone. The Broker was an illusive force within society, proven capable of starting and ending wars with their information alone; the true force of which no one knew the full extent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But yeah, they had a cheesy ass name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?” Garrus finally asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I treated one of the Broker’s enemies.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a doctor.” Shepard narrowed her eyes. “What the hell did they think you were going to do when confronted with a patient?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This patient would have died if not for me. Apparently this complicated things for the Broker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked unconvinced. “Why do I have the feeling there’s more to this story...?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wouldn’t meet his gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I’m going to help you, I need to know everything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michelle’s gaze lowered once again. “When I first started my practice, I was assigned to a very poor district. To make ends meet, I… I would steal supplies from wealthier districts. The Broker’s people found out about this, and they threatened to report me if I didn’t pay them. I wanted to just ignore them, but... if word of this got out, I’d surely lose my license. And the payments, they weren’t much at first, but they kept getting higher… I just couldn’t afford them anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s blackmail for you…” Garrus shook his head. “Is there any way I can help?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if we can take on the Shadow Broker…” Shepard sent him a weary look. “But maybe we can cook up a story for C-Sec. Pretend you’re getting harassed by a merc gang for drugs or something. An increased presence from the cops should be enough to keep you and your patients safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dr. Michel gave her a sad smile. “Here I am, burdening you with my problems, and you’re still doing what you can to help me… Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard shook her head. “I’m a Spectre. It’s what we do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked at her and nodded. “Then I’ll have a talk with C-Sec. See if I can’t encourage them to offer more protection.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Garrus.” Dr. Michel looked up at him, her smile soft and sincere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, Commander,” he turned to Shepard, “first we should take you back to the ship. You’ll need rest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” She waved him off. “I’ve got these.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And with that, she downed her first two pills. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander…” He looked weary, mandibles flapping in protest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take care of her, Garrus,” Liara finally spoke up, her tears long since dried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now she just sounded drained. “You can go on ahead to speak with C-Sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus was a bit apprehensive. “If you’re sure…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and made to leave. Liara offered an arm to Shepard, and the two of them left for the Presidium. It wasn’t until they entered a cab that Shepard finally got the chance to rest her ankle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And talk with Liara without distraction. “Liara…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard,” she responded quietly. She laughed a little in spite of everything. “By the goddess… I’m turning into Wrex.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard smiled softly before it faded into a look of concern. “How are you doing… really? This can’t have been easy on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. It wasn’t.” Liara looked out the window for a moment before continuing. “Satya… Um, actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>Feron</span>
  </em>
  <span> I should say... I can’t believe they’d be capable of this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think they’re an agent of the Shadow Broker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They must be.” Liara’s gaze returned to the window. But then she buried her face in her hands. “By the goddess, Shepard… You nearly… I feel responsible!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not responsible,” Shepard assured her. “And it wasn’t as dangerous as it looked. I had planned out an escape, but I knew it’d be easier if we could just talk them down. So I played along.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liara didn’t look at her. “You’re just saying that. Trying to reassure me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, really; it’s easier that way. It’s how I’d handle any hostage situation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Liara fell silent for a while. “I’m going to talk with Kelly. I really think I need to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good idea.” Shepard reached over to briefly rest a hand on her shoulder. “If you ever need to talk to me, I’ll be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. But I think it’s for the best if I talk to Kelly first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After reaching the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Normandy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the two parted ways. Liara headed for Dr. Chambers’ office, while Shepard… surreptitiously headed off the ship. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shore leave at the Citadel didn’t come around every day, and she could rest her leg in a bar just as well as she could in her cabin. If she remembered right, there was a bar within the Embassies. So she headed there and took up a seat at the counter. A human bartender, an older man, greeted her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey. What do you offer here?” Shepard wondered aloud, looking around for the bottles of liquor, only to find none on display. Probably kept them behind the counter? Politicians were all about appearances, after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Information, mostly.” The man nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Infor--?” Shepard’s mouth fell open, utterly taken aback. “Wait; </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?! You’ve got to be kidding me! Where’s the booze?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? Oh. No booze here, friend. Sorry about that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What the fuck? Shepard’s brain nearly short-circuited. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why the hell did they fashion this place like a bar if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>a damn bar?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then, her omni-tool pinged with a message. “Uh… never mind. I’ll be over there, if it’s okay to loiter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sure is. Government property. Therefore, free and open to the public. Let me know if you need anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard thanked him and nodded, moving off to an empty table to check her messages.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: Commander</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: garrus</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: lol now i’m wrex</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: nm jk</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ??</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: nevr mind just kiddinn</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ok</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: how is Dr TSoni?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: she went to talk with kelly</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ah that’s good</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: could we talk?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: ye</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ok</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: I’m heading back to the Normandy now</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: no wait</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: i’m at the embassy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: at the bar in the embassy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ??</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: there is no bar in the embassy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: why are you there</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ^anyway</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: because i am thriy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: *thrist</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep:*thristy</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: fuck</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: I can’t even type rite nao &amp; there is nothinn here </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: ok </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>gv: I will wander around until I find you </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard. Didn’t expect to find you here.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard startled. “Oh, Kaiden. I mean--Ah! Kaiden! I-It’s been a long time! How are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaiden had been a Lieutenant onboard then-Captain Anderson’s ship at the time she had begun her training to become a Spectre, two years ago. Once she attained the title, Shepard took command of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Normandy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Kaiden became her lead officer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He remained as such for about a year until he received a better offer aboard another vessel. At the time, she had encouraged him to take it, as it was better than what she could offer him. He had been a bit reluctant at first but ultimately decided to take it. She had been happy to see his career only improve ever since. He was now a Commander, just like her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Career aside, the two had formed a solid friendship, but unfortunately, it had grown distant nearly as soon as it had blossomed. Not even a month after she had met him, Kaiden had asked her for a deeper relationship. Much like with Liara, the question had come at her from out of the blue, knocking her entirely off guard with such blunt directness. But she didn’t bother telling him so, as he had pointedly told her that she had been sending him “mixed messages” throughout the time they had known one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So in his mind, she had been leading him on (at least a little bit?), and in her experience with many others before him, once a man had such an idea in his head, he was unlikely to ever buy into her perspective on the matter, no matter what she said to the contrary. So, she didn’t bother to even attempt to explain herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After she had rejected him, he had grown cold and strictly professional, entirely distant. Unlike with Liara, she sensed the awkwardness between them had never left. Although, their relationship had still been rather cordial; he had been her lead officer without any underlying drama nor contention, after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been fine. Things are… fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t look all that happy to see her though. So why he had decided to sneak up on her in the first place was beyond her.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good to hear,” Shepard said good naturedly, figuring it’d be for the best to not attempt to pry. “I’ve been doing pretty fine too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you?” There was a slight edge to his question, as if he were accusing her of something rather than merely responding to her statement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yes.” She indicated a seat. “Please, go ahead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid I can’t stay for very long.” Kaiden shook his head. “I have some business here I need to take care of.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” Shepard nodded, “I see. Well, good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Finally his expression softened a little. “Shepard, listen. Before I go, there’s something I want to say to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The insides of Shepard’s stomach quavered. His sudden shift in tone didn’t give her a good feeling about this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard about your latest case.” He looked displeased. “About the turian Spectre. How you let him literally get away with murder.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s jaw tightened and her eyebrow twitched slightly. “Oh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Kaiden fixed her with a steady glare, “I don’t think it was right. How you handled that. It wasn’t right at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard didn’t respond. Only gazed back at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well? Aren’t you going to defend your actions?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she said simply. “If you want to know my line of reasoning, I’ll send you the transcripts of my defense to the Council. But I’m not going to debate my actions with you. I don’t want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Kaiden looked upset, almost as if she had just slapped a puppy in front of his eyes, “so that’s how it is, huh? Wow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked away and noticed Garrus standing near the entrance. He was leaning against the wall, apparently politely waiting for them to finish their conversation. She waved him over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And here I thought you trusted me,” Kaiden continued, looking rather dejected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do,” Shepard corrected. “You wouldn’t have served as my XO if I didn’t trust you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Commander, but at this point, that just sounds like a lie.” He turned to leave, only to nearly bump into Garrus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaiden startled and moved away. “Ah. Speak of the devil…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The... devil?” Garrus repeated weakly, looking a little hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, sorry. It’s just an expression,” Kaiden explained. “Didn’t mean to imply anything by it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus, this is Commander Kaiden Alenko. He was my lead officer, back before Wrex. Now he’s the commander aboard Admiral Hackett’s ship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A pleasure.” Garrus nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kaiden, this is--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know who he is,” Kaiden interrupted her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to Garrus, who looked both stunned and confused. “I’m sorry. But I already read into your case files, and I don’t have the time for a proper introduction. I need to get back to work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander. Officer.” Kaiden nodded to them both before leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He headed to the bartender, probably to “get information”, since apparently that’s what everyone does around here instead of getting drunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus briefly watched him leave before turning back to Shepard. “That sounded... tense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because it was.” Shepard indicated for him to take a seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did so and regarded her carefully. “You alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As well as I can be, I guess.” She shrugged slightly. “Anyway, you wanted to talk?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he straightened, oddly reminding her of an eager, young recruit, “I spoke with C-Sec. They agreed to expand and extend patrols near the hospital.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you manage that?” she wondered, a bit impressed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Managed to get ahold of Captain Bailey. She’s a woman of action, and one of her word. She’ll see it through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the one who told us about Fade… Er, I guess, Harkin,” Shepard observed. “You talk to her as Archangel again?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not. I only hid my face last time because I had a bounty on my head.” He regarded her awkwardly for a few moments. “Um… thanks for that again, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got it.” Shepard shrugged. “Anyway, good to know all’s well that ends well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander, you can’t mean--!” Garrus looked at her as if she’d just slapped a child. “You sound as if you believe the problem is already solved!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As much as it can be.” Shepard held out her hands. “What? Are you suggesting we go after the Shadow Broker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus blinked. “You’re suggesting we don’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t be serious,” she grimaced. “This is the Shadow Broker we’re talking about here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’re just going to give up?” Garrus exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s eyebrow rose, and she leaned forward a bit. “Okay. So what do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>think we should do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we don’t have any leads yet, obviously. But if we can get Liara to--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she cut him off right there. “No. Out of the question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Garrus’ mandibles flared. “You can’t be serious, Commander. Feron’s our only link to the Shadow Broker. If we don’t talk to Liara, we’ll never--!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Liara’s heartbroken right now,” Shepard snapped. “You’re not going to make her feel any better by grilling her with a bunch of bullshit questions. I won’t allow it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus’ mouth snapped shut, but his mandibles kept angrily twitching. He hummed for a few moments before speaking, “So we… wait a week or two. Then we--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard groaned loudly, cutting him off. He fell silent for a second, but then promptly opened his mouth again to protest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she exploded, “What the hell’s wrong with you?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t answer. Just stared at her in stunned silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have even an </span>
  <em>
    <span>ounce </span>
  </em>
  <span>of empathy?” she pressed, still furious. “Have you thought at all about how </span>
  <em>
    <span>Liara </span>
  </em>
  <span>might feel right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I have,” he said quietly. “But the benefits outweigh--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The ends justify the means,” she said evenly. “Is that it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stammered for a few moments before finally finding his words. “Commander, we can’t allow Feron to escape. If we do, they’re only going to intimidate and harass more people. I understand that Liara’s in pain, but if we don’t do something, there’ll be a whole lot more people who get hurt. And I’m willing to bet their pain will be worse than just their feelings.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard seethed. She seriously wanted to punch his damn face right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander, I know you want to protect Liara. And that’s admirable. But there’s a lot at stake here. If the Broker’s willing to kill patients in hospitals, then what else are they capable of?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked away. He did have a bit of a point, as much as she hated to admit it. However, as usual, he was missing the big picture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a deep breath. “Alright. Listen. You’re saying that Feron is our link to the Shadow Broker, correct?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Indeed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I think you’re wrong.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was puzzled. “How?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Feron went rogue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What--?! What makes you think that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t notice? </span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one who pushed Feron into a corner and made them slip up. Remember when you pressed them into revealing their demands? It ended up that Feron didn’t really have an answer for you, did they?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus’ eyes widened in realization. “You think… the Shadow Broker intended for you to die all along. As it was, your head was worth more than the doctor’s debt anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.” She nodded. “But Feron didn’t kill me. And why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus held up his hands, at a loss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it would hurt Liara. Turns out, Feron is more loyal to Liara than to the Shadow Broker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked down at the table, or rather, beyond it as he considered her words. “If that’s the case, then… how will we ever track down the Broker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of the Shadow Broker’s agents knew too much. With an organization as shadowy as this, that much was certainly true. And with Feron gone rogue, what little connection they did have with their employer was now entirely out the window. Finding out anything about the Broker was simply off the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And saving Feron… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another feat that was just as impossible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s just it.” Shepard shifted in her seat. “We don’t track down the Broker. No one does.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Shepard--!” Garrus protested, frantic. “If the Shadow Broker wants you dead, then--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They lost their chance.” She shook her head. “The Broker is a master strategist. They don’t go into anything without a foolproof plan. But they played their hand, and they lost. An opportunity like that only comes around once, and now, it’s gone. They’d have to fabricate a brand new scheme, and now, I have my eyes wide open. It’d take an even more elaborate ruse to take me down now, so I’m willing to bet that they’re not going to even bother. Apparently they find me worth some effort, but I highly doubt I’m worth </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much trouble. At a certain point, it becomes unprofitable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked down at her hands and frowned. A much higher priority for the Shadow Broker now would be going after Feron. And she doubted the Broker took betrayal lightly.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you think they orchestrated… everything...” Garrus looked horrified. “But that would mean… Saren!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Saren’s the reason why I went to the hospital at all that day,” Shepard acknowledged, putting his fears into words. “I had thought it was weird that Saren had attacked me; he’s never done that before. But when I think about it now, it all makes sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you think Saren colluded with the Shadow Broker?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Shepard shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have to inform the Council!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Shepard was skeptical. “And who’s going to believe us? Saren’s involvement is way too coincidental. The Council likes facts and evidence, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>theories. You know how difficult it was for me to get your case sorted out. I don’t think I’ll be able to pull off anything like that again for a good, long while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve done it before; you can do it again.” Garrus nodded, his voice firm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but you seriously have way too much faith in me, if you really believe that.” She leaned back in her seat, only to frantically lean forward again once she nearly toppled over backwards. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah! Commander!” He startled. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” she mumbled sheepishly before burying her reddened face in her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, Garrus. As much as I hate to admit it, we need to drop this. We aren’t going to get anywhere. Saren, and especially the Shadow Broker, are way too powerful for us. Maybe one day we’ll have our moment, if we keep our eyes open, but… I just don’t think today is that day.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mandibles sagged as he paused to consider. “Maybe you’re right… but what about Feron?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t answer right away, chewing the inside of her mouth in deep thought as guilt gripped her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish they hadn’t run,” she finally replied, her voice glum as she sat motionless, still resting her head in her arms. “But even if they didn’t, I don’t know if it would have changed anything. Living on the run from the Shadow Broker… I can only hope that the Broker doesn’t give a damn about their people and always keeps loose ties with them. But Feron lost them a hefty sum of credits </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Saren’s favor to boot. I have a bad feeling that Feron... will not have an easy life ahead of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you… talked to Liara about any of this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” she finally moved, rolling her head to a new position in her arms, “I don’t know how to.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Escaping Boredom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Shepard does all she can to escape boredom as she recovers from her injury. Later, the team preps for confronting Dr. Saleon.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: r*pe is briefly mentioned.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Let’s get out of here.” Shepard rose. “I’m thirsty as hell, and this place is devoid of booze.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could practically see the sweat gliding down Garrus’ face. “Isn’t it a bit early to get wasted, Commander?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never bothered you before.” She looked down at him, confused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>I had to carry you home the last time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oof…” She cringed in pure regret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it alright if I suggest something non-alcoholic instead?” He rose too and offered her his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at him with utter confusion for a moment before remembering that she still had an injury. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hot damn. Those painkillers really were something. Maybe it </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>be a bad idea to get drunk, after all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, sure. So… tea maybe?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Tea’, huh? Hmm… hold on.” He waited, listening for his translator to give him a bit more information. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even with that, all he really ended up learning was that it was some kind of drink, something that he had easily and already surmised himself. “I’m not… really sure what that is, but… maybe we can find something similar?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Water works too. Honestly, I’ll go with anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looped her arm with his, steadfastly reminding herself that he was Garrus, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>Archangel. He was just helping an injured person; there was nothing to overthink here. And Liara had done the same earlier; he was likely just following her example. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s just get out of here,” she suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. But then, it’s back to the ship. You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to be resting now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>resting,” she countered. “Er, I mean I </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>resting. And I… will be, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they left the Embassies, they passed a news broadcast station. Normally, Shepard didn’t think much of them; they had very tiny screens and so usually just sounded like nothing more than background noise to her. She preferred to read the news, not sit around listening to it. But now…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>--man named Lantar Sidonis. Turned himself in for the murder of ten victims. However, the lack of a police force on Omega meant there was no one for C-Sec to turn him over to for justice. Sidonis was released within the day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus froze, his gaze transfixed on a point far beyond the horizon. Shepard stopped too, her arm still entangled with his. While they had walked, it had been a steady support for her, but now, his arm felt lifeless, as if a single feather could knock it down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garrus…” she murmured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hear her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then, her omni-tool pinged with a new message. She was going to ignore it, but then it sounded again. And again. And again…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard groaned. She already had an idea who it might be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus finally looked up, his eyes bleary with confusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD!!!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD WHWERE ARE YOU</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: dID FICKING gARRUSS vAKRIAN KIDANP YOU AGAIN</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: wHERE THE FYCK ARE YOU</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: YOU ALWYS CHECK YOUR DMN GADGETS WHERE ARE YOU</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sHEPARD WHATTHE FUCKK</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked at her questioningly, and she rolled her eyes, already starting to draft a response. “It’s Wrex. He’s losing it. I have to respond.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked around, until he took notice of a bench. “Over there. That way, you can rest in the meantime.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Good idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: RELAX I’M FINE</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: fuck</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: calm down</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: and stop snding me a million messages, it’s not gonn a make me type any faster</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: fINE OK BUT WHERE ARE YOU</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: at the presidium</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: oK BUT WHY</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: because i want to, get off my back</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: lIARA TOLD ME TO CHECK ON YOU, sHE SAAD YOU WERR HURT</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: *lIARA</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: DMANIT</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: wHY DOES IT KEEEP SAYING 2ARA</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: Liara, yes ok i get it</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: yes thank you for checknng on me </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: in short i am finee now goodbye</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: nO WHERE IS GARRUSS</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: *gARRUS</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: he’s with me, now back off</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: dAMN BASSTRAD vAKARIAN TRYINN TO KIDNAP YOU AGAIN I WILL KICK HIS ASS</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: i will kick your ass if you dn’t stopp being a dumbass</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: so stop</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: i WOULD LOVE TO SE YOU TRY sHEPARD</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: hA I ALWAY S KNEW YOU HAD A QUAD SOMEHERE </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: yeah usre whatever, goodbye wrex</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: sO NOW YOU ARE DATTING vAKARIIN HUH</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: HAHAHAHAHAHA</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: uh</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: seriously?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: dONT KISS HIM YOU WILL GETT DISEASSES ND ALLLERGIC REACTON</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>shep: ffs you are so dense soemtiems I swaer</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>wREX: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard closed her omni-tool with another groan. “I love him, but he can be so damn annoying sometimes. He has this... persistent wacky parent energy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus was just too innocent. “What did he say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard waved her hand around absently, trying to find the words to properly explain his bullshit in a way that made sense to normal folks. “He was just... worried. Along with a whole load of other bullshit. None of it, important.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah. I... see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard nodded to him. “That broadcast was… pretty unexpected. You alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a moment before answering. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure?” she asked softly. The news of Sidonis’ fate had to have hit him hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a breath. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That didn’t sound too convincing, but she didn’t want to press him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked around and took notice of an outdoor cafe not too far in the distance. “Oh! I know that place. Kaiden told me about it before; he said they had some human dishes there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He followed her gaze. “Oh? I’ve never actually seen that spot before. Must be new.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rose to her feet and offered him a hand. “Want to check it out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” Instead of taking her hand, he patted it and rose on his own. “Not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I don’t think you need the extra weight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked in confusion before it finally registered. “Right. That. Man… These painkillers, they’re really something else. I keep forgetting I’m even injured.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, drugs </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>expensive, and Spectres </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to pay for their own equipment,” he conceded. “I guess Dr. Michelle’s clinic can afford the good stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… All I’ve got is leftover Alliance shit.” Shepard made a face. “I’m just glad we have Dr. Chakwas.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her skills are very impressive. If it weren’t for her, I might not be standing here right now.” Garrus absentmindedly ran a hand over the blast impacts in his armor. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect a human doctor to know so much about turian physiology. She patched me up just as well, if not better, than your average turian physician.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All human doctors are required to study aliens too in order to improve their practice. Plus, she’s had to patch up Wrex and Liara before too, so she’s no stranger to the idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, that reminds me.” Shepard indicated the hole in his chestplate. “We should really look into getting you a new set of armor. You look like you just barely escaped a war zone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave her a rueful smile. “That’s probably because I kind of did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~1~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe they really have tea here,” Shepard smiled happily, bringing her cup to an open table. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to look at a menu and even just see something I recognize, let alone something I really love!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to hear it.” Garrus took a seat across from her, the only seat actually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unwittingly, Shepard’s face flushed. It was a little strange, sitting at a couples table with a lone crewmate. Normally, she’d only go out in groups, a habit from her days in the Alliance. If she wasn’t left alone with someone, there was less of a chance that something awkward (or worse) could happen. She liked to avoid drama whenever the chance presented itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And of course, some people might get the wrong idea. Joker came to mind first, but mainly, Wrex. Most certainly Wrex. </span>
</p><p><span>She could see him now, in her mind’s eye, a chibi version of himself practically squeeing. </span><em><span>A date, Shepard! You’re finally on a date!</span></em> <em><span>Good for you!</span></em></p><p>
  <span>But then, he’d get a little pissed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But why the hell did it have to be a damn turian?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ugh. Weird that she was thinking of this now. She needed to think of something else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smell this!” she demanded, shoving the tea towards Garrus’ face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He instinctively drew back; his mandibles went a bit wild while his face plates pinched together in a look of frantic confusion. “Oh. Um… okay. If you... say so.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sniffed it, only to appear pleasantly surprised. “Oh, that’s nice. I like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, right?” Shepard smiled broadly. “It smells as good as it tastes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus hummed, “Now I’m jealous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah… oh. Um, I’m sorry,” she smiled weakly, sheepish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now she was just being cruel, waving something in his face that he couldn’t have. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, well,” she tried to save herself, “it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>mostly made from water, so if you’re not allergic, it might be okay if you try a little bit?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe later,” he paused to take a sip from his own drink, something that was purple and vaguely ominous. Seriously, it was literally swirling all on its own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander?” he asked, pulling her out of her unnerved thoughts. “I was hoping we could talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?” She quirked a brow, until it suddenly all came back to her. “Oh, right. You wanted to talk about something complicated. Wow, now that feels like ages ago...”    </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No doubt. Anyway, would it be okay if I talked about it now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course. I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it. A lot happened,” he acknowledged. He looked at his hands for a moment before continuing. “Well, I… did my research on Earth’s history with policing, and… well, it certainly opened my eyes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s eyebrows shot skywards. So he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>look into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… how so?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hummed for a moment before continuing. “So many lives lost from racism… ableism… It’s incredibly tragic. And not just that. Officers raping people while they’re in custody…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “The list of horrors just goes on and on. Some of the vids I’d seen… I had to stop watching them because they made me furious. I never would have imagined things could get that far out of hand. And here I thought C-Sec was bad…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, suddenly looking rather weary. “Anyway, I filed a complaint against that officer. Anonymously, of course. It won’t hold up the weight it would if it had a name attached, but… well, my name isn’t worth much anymore anyway. But it </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>get C-Sec to open their eyes and keep them on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C-Sec isn’t perfect, but it does at least attempt to root out potential sociopaths and the like in their application process; although I never really paid that much attention to that aspect of it until now. And an officer must live in the area they serve. Another point that I had never even considered all that much until now. Of course, all of that won’t stop someone who develops racist tendencies over the course of their career, so that’s why I sent in the complaint. If he keeps at it, someone is bound to take notice. Not the best solution, I’ll bet, but at least it’s something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re really taking this seriously…” She had to admit, she didn’t expect this type of reaction. But then again, he hadn’t doubted her when she mentioned Harkin’s harassment. A lot of the racist asshole types would tell her she was overreacting whenever she complained of something like that. Thankfully, he wasn’t that far gone.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.” He nodded. “I admit, I didn’t until recently, but I think I do now. And I’m glad you asked me to look into it; I learned a lot that I never would have on my own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do they handle prejudice on Palaven?” Shepard wondered. “I tried to look into it before, but I couldn’t find anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, as you might know, there isn’t a police force on Palaven.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, instead you have the military and… the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hastatim</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>hastatim </span>
  </em>
  <span>were, in short, execution squads. Since every turian had at least some form of military training and experience, keeping them ‘in order’ required a heavy display of force. And since many turians would gladly choose death over any form of surrender, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hastatim </span>
  </em>
  <span>set up safe zones before they begin their executions. This allowed the citizens a choice: they could remain to fight and die for what they believe in, or they could enter the safe zones to surrender on their own terms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brutal as it was, it at least allowed any offending turian a level of dignity that didn’t quite exist in many human cultures. Concepts like “innocent until proven guilty” didn’t really feel like they meant all that much when you’re hauled away in handcuffs to sit in a cell and wait your turn to be processed. And that’s when things go according to the law.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, so you’re aware,” Garrus replied. “The </span>
  <em>
    <span>hastatim </span>
  </em>
  <span>are always derived from the colonies they serve, so racism is not much of an issue. They go door-to-door, indiscriminately killing anyone they can find outside of the safe zones. Only children are spared, as they are most likely brainwashed by their parents or caretakers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… brutal but equal,” Shepard winced. “What about adolescents?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same as the children,” he explained. “Unless they’re especially difficult to subdue. It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve heard of some teenagers that were killed by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hestatim </span>
  </em>
  <span>because they were too relentless.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds horrible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… intense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard took a moment to consider. “Growing up in that culture, I guess it’s not all that surprising you wouldn’t know much about racist law enforcement… For what it’s worth, it’s... egalitarian.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now that she thought about it, his brutal take on punishing criminals made sense too. For better or for worse, he was thinking like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hestatim</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you… ever encountered the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hestatim </span>
  </em>
  <span>yourself?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “I believe they raided my colony once when I was very young. My mother just took me to a safe zone, and we waited there for a few days. I don’t remember it very well. The colony where I’m from isn’t exactly populous, so… it’s not like it happens very often.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And your father?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She remembered him talking about the man before, so she felt safe in asking.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He worked for C-Sec, so he was here on the Citadel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, right. You had said before that he worked for C-Sec, but I didn’t realize you had grown up without him…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “He would come home for vacations now and then, but it was my mother who raised me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard frowned, wondering why his family hadn’t moved to the Citadel with his father. Maybe it was expensive to live here. Or perhaps his parents were afraid of Garrus growing up without the traditions and culture of Palaven? Sounded like an odd decision, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A krogan hand smacked onto the table in front of them, causing the two of them to nearly jump out of their seats. “Well, well, well! What do we have here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex!” Shepard hurriedly moved her tea away from him. Wild as he was, he’d probably knock it over. “What the hell? What are you doing, sneaking up on us like that?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And also </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>did he do that? Wrex tended to make a lot of noise wherever he went, although sometimes he did randomly demonstrate some truly exceptional stealth abilities. Too bad he never really used them in battle. Or in normal life. But when you’re as tough as him, she supposed there really wasn’t much need for stealth. Not often anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe she was just too absorbed in her own thoughts and their conversation.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sent her a wry smile. “Liara warned me you’d try and escape, and it looks like she was right.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Escape from </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>exactly?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Escape your rest,” he clarified, regarding her with a small nod. “Believe me, I know the feeling, but I made a promise to Liara. And I intend to keep it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex, I’m fine. And now you’ve even seen so with your own two eyes. So you can tell Liara everything’s fine.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So aren’t you going to go back to Liara now?” Shepard pressed. “It’s rude to keep her waiting, and you’re a man of your word, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a chance. Not until after I take care of you.” He started to look her over, like a father inspecting his child after a tumble. “Now, where are you hurt?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nowhere,” she declared stubbornly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it’s your throat, and… ah! Your leg!” He frowned. “Damn. I’ll have to carry you then. Here, leap into my arms.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that bad, Wrex,” Garrus chimed in. “She can still walk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure.” He held out his arms. “But we need to hurry though; we have to get back before Liara finds out I’m gabbing with you instead of getting you to safety.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bleh, fine…” Shepard exhaled, irritated. “I got shit to do anyway. Just give me a minute.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took one last sip of tea before offering the last of it to Garrus. “You want to try?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?!” Wrex blocked the cup before Garrus could reach out and take it. “Trying to poison him?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve eaten some levo-food on accident before; it didn’t kill me,” Garrus explained and reached over Wrex’s hand to take the cup. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex watched him drink the last of the tea with a level of disgust. “You just kissed Shepard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus finished it with a contented look on his face before turning to Wrex, who was still regarding him with contempt. “Wait. I, uh… what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing,” Shepard jumped in before he could say anything more. “So how was it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was amazing, actually,” he told her, sincerely impressed. “What was it called again?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s tea,” she proudly explained. “Chai tea, to be more specific. There are tons of different types of chai and different recipes for each one back on Earth. And that’s just one type of tea; there are even more flavors!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? I wonder if someone could make a dextro blend…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex let out an evil chuckle. “You know you just drank leaves… right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus scoffed, “And I’m supposed to believe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>an expert?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not at all.” He folded his arms over his chest. “But I know how to avoid shit that’s fucking disgusting. And that shit is fucking disgusting.”</span>
</p><p><span>“I can understand if you</span> <span>don’t like it, but claiming it’s made from </span><em><span>leaves</span></em><span>…” he chuffed a small laugh as he slowly turned to Shepard for verification. </span></p><p>
  <span>But her expression did nothing to affirm his skepticism. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually…” she began, looking a little guilt-ridden.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.</span>
  <em>
    <span>” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He abruptly turned to the empty glass, taken aback. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?!”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span>…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus’ nose plates scrunched up in disgust as his face plates slid into an expression of true suffering. “Please don’t tell me I just drank </span>
  <em>
    <span>leaves</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Shepard…!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! Listen to me; damn it!” she exclaimed, having to raise her voice a bit over Wrex’s now rancorous laughter as he beat the table with an outstretched palm. “It’s not like we pick up random leaves off the </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn ground </span>
  </em>
  <span>and--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>you just let me drink </span>
  <em>
    <span>leaves</span>
  </em>
  <span>…” Garrus brought a hand to his crest as his mouth awkwardly kept opening and closing, mandibles sagging uselessly. </span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Wrex was now wheezing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough!” Shepard wanted to swat them both; there was no need to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>damn melodramatic about it. “The leaves are fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>shredded </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>boiled </span>
  </em>
  <span>first; it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>like--!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another loud peal of laughter erupted from Wrex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hissed in annoyance, “Alright… Anytime you assholes are finished disrespecting my damn culture, I’m all for it…!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never my intention to disrespect your culture, Commander, but…” Garrus’ posture sagged until he started resting his face on the table, “I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t want to drink leaves…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked </span>
  </em>
  <span>it!” she exclaimed, incredulous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… but that was before I realized it was made of leaves.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex’s laughing fit devolved into a coughing fit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great…” Shepard finally rose to her feet, watching Garrus lie there and Wrex hacking away. “Now we’ve got three wounded; let’s just get the hell out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~2~~</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay. Now I’m bored.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>What little work she had left to do long since finished, Shepard deactivated her omni-tool and rolled onto her back, snuggling into her blankets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally researching whatever random bullshit she could find on the light and dark web was interesting enough to hold her attention for more than an entire afternoon, but without any news of Archangel, there was a sort of emptiness to it. She was, of course, glad that he was now a member of her crew, but that also meant she’d never hear of his exploits again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, now she could witness them in person. But that wasn’t all that useful to a woman who was now essentially restricted to her bed to heal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not to mention, her ship too was still confined to one of the Citadel’s loading bays. At least until tomorrow, but that was really only if her injury was healed up by then. Dr. Chakwas wouldn’t allow her out in the field while injured as it was and that went doubly so for an independent mission. And technically, since it actually didn’t come from the Council, Garrus’ request was just that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that she thought of it, Udina wouldn’t be happy to hear about this quest; a waste of time and resources, he’d call it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well honestly, when was that bastard </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy with her anyway?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She groaned and pulled her blankets over her head. Even just thinking about Udina was the worst. She was itching for some action. For something productive. For… anything but this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She could mod her weapons. She usually never had the time for that kind of thing, but now, bored as she was, it was the perfect time to spend hours aimlessly tinkering away. So she tossed aside her blankets and made for the elevator, headed for the ground floor, where the Mako, the shuttle, and the weapons were stored. The area tended to remain rather empty of crewmembers too, which meant no one would give her shit for not resting up properly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the moment she arrived, she discovered Wrex and Garrus embroiled in bitter combat. As in... they were literally beating the shit out of each other with their fists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, what the hell?!” Shepard exclaimed, incredulous. “Hey, wait! Stop! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they were too busy beating the hell out of each other to even notice her pleas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it!” She rushed over to them, as fast as her leg would allow, and wracked her brain for a way to break them apart without managing to earn herself any new injuries.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oddly enough, the two of them were entirely silent as they fought. She expected them to be cussing each other out or yelling, or something, but, aside from their heavy breathing, neither of them uttered a word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was likely far more serious than she had thought...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she was about to reach them, Wrex charged, knocking Garrus back into the wall. Her cries of protest were drowned out by the subsequent thud of turian crashing against metal accompanied by a cry of pain. Wrex pinned him there with a forearm across his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which was unusual. It wasn’t like Wrex to show mercy; she thought he would’ve gone straight for the neck. Was he trying to torture Garrus, rather than kill him? What the hell was going on?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex grinned evilly. “Give up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not yet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus kicked the krogan’s knee, causing it to buckle immediately. This made Wrex lose his balance, and with a frame as bulky as his, once he lost it, he didn’t stand much of a chance regaining it. He pinwheeled his arms in a wild attempt to restore his balance, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as he wound up toppling over backwards. Shepard scuffled away in a panic; the last thing she needed was to be crushed by who knows how many kilos of krogan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Much like a giant turtle, Wrex clumsily struggled to right himself. Garrus straddled him with ease, his talons poised at his throat, ready to strike. “Looks like </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who needs to give up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex grabbed his wrist, crushing it in his grip tightly enough that Garrus winced. He yanked on it, forcing Garrus to move close to his face. “You’re a little more clever than I gave you credit for, but you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>defeat me!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bashed his head into Garrus’ own with enough force that the turian reeled, dazed from the impact. From there, it didn’t take much effort at all to shove his still-floored opponent off him. But of course, just because it was easy didn’t mean he had to be gentle with him. Far from it, actually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus nearly collided with Shepard and likely would have done so had she not scampered away at the last second. But her sudden steps coupled with her recent injury only caused her to tumble down to the ground as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus whirled around at the sound. “Shepard? What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepard?” Wrex had to strain to see her, since he was still struggling to roll onto his side from his back. “You’re supposed to... be in bed! Liara’s gonna kick my ass if she... finds out!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forget about me!” she exclaimed, frustrated. “What in the hell are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>two doing!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander?” Garrus looked puzzled. “You seem… upset.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, do I?” she snarked, folding her arms in indignation. “I just walked in on two of my crewmen beating the everloving shit out of each other! So yeah, I’m a little pissed off!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everloving?” Wrex repeated; his face wrinkled in confusion. “The hell is that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex,” Shepard gritted her teeth. “I’ve had just about enough of your bullshit. I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>close to throwing you off my ship. If I catch you attacking him again, I’ll--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander, wait!” Garrus exclaimed, holding out a hand to stop her. “I think this is a misunderstanding. We weren’t fighting. Just training.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She froze, blinking rapidly. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Training, Shepard. Have you heard of it?” Wrex finally managed to roll over onto his side, and from there, it was an easy task to return to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hah! Who am I kidding?” he scoffed. “You humans think ‘training’ is all about aiming guns. At least the turian understands that you gotta train your body now and again too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard puffed out a breath of hot air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might have fooled him,” she indicated Garrus with a tilt of her head, “but you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>fooling me. This is all bullshit. You just wanted an excuse to beat him up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex extended his arms in a trollish shrug. “If I wanted to do that, he’d be in pieces.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat in stunned silence for a moment. “Oh. Right. I guess you have a point.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, she looked them over suspiciously before doing a double take. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait a second here… Why were they both... half-naked?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was true; the two of them were only wearing pants. She had never seen a topless krogan before, and she’d never beheld a shirtless turian in real life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unwittingly, she started staring at Garrus, enough so that he took notice and actually checked over his own torso with a positively baffled expression, thinking she must have spotted an injury or a spill that he hadn’t noticed. She hurriedly looked away before he could question anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the meantime, Wrex ambled over, offered each of them a hand, and pulled the both of them to their feet at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still, I can’t believe you’d be so reckless,” Shepard insisted. “I was planning on going after Dr. Asshole tomorrow. How am I supposed to do that if everybody’s injured?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex snorted, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Him</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Injuring </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Didn’t know you were such a comedian, Shepard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, Commander,” Garrus assured her. “No one’s going to risk an injury, especially not before a mission.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard frowned. “Says the guy whose face is bleeding in two places.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” His mandibles jolted. “Where?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt his face and checked his hands for blood. Sure enough, there it was. “Damn it…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I rest my case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Commander, these are just scratches…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Wrex added. “I can’t help it; he’s so damn delicate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She folded her arms over her chest, her displeasure evident.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…” Garrus scratched his face. “I admit, practice matches are supposed to be supervised; that way, you’re less likely to get an injury. But we couldn’t find anyone around to help, so…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard’s eyebrow quirked. “Seriously? Now you’re trying to act like there’s some kind of rules for beating up your teammates?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, on turian ships, yes.” He turned to Wrex, but the krogan merely shrugged. “And I believe the correct term is combat simulation. We’re not ‘beating each other up’ per se. Not for the hell of it, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was unconvinced. “You’re telling me turian ships allow crew members to fight each other?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” He nodded. “Our commanders run us tight; we have to blow off steam somehow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So this is... normal for you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>normal to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex shook his head. “There’s a reason why I brought you all the way down to the weapons hangar… Humans never bother to exercise.They got all those damn implants, so...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on…” Shepard frowned, thoughtful. “Do either of you have any implants?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t say that I do,” Garrus answered; he turned back to Wrex, who merely snorted in retort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that she thought about it, simulated combat was a pretty popular sport on Earth, back in the days before implants became widely available. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She jolted, now feeling incredibly guilty for not thinking of this until now. “Damn. I didn’t even realize...! Without proper exercise, you’d probably get really stiff, and--! You wouldn’t even--! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wrex!” she exclaimed, startled yet again. “How have you been coping this entire time?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held out his hand like a chef about to kiss the air above his masterpiece. “With profound irritation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rubbed her temples, hoping that she wouldn’t end up regretting this. “Alright. Go ahead then. Just don’t… hurt each other too badly. Er… I mean, Wrex, don’t hurt him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex smirked. “No promises.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes! Promise me!” she insisted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine…” He threw his arms skywards before letting them drop to his sides. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll find you a better solution for some proper exercise soon,” she assured him. “I just wish you would have told me something sooner.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cracked a smile. “What? My constant complaining not enough for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stretched. “Jokes aside, you already know what fuels my fire. Battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything less is just babysitting duty.” He looked at Garrus pointedly.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for understanding, Commander.” Garrus nodded. “But could I ask what brought you down here in the first place? Did you need one of us for something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was bored, so I was just going to mod my weapons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sure doesn’t sound like resting your injury,” Wrex remarked. “I’d hate for Liara to find out about this...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’d only find out if someone told her…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex grimaced. “Listen, Shepard, I feel for you, I do. But you know how she gets when she’s pissed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She exhaled. “Fine…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned back and headed for the elevator. But instead of entering a destination, she waited. Then she walked out, only to find Wrex and Garrus embroiled in conflict yet again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them didn’t notice her when she first came in; what would make them notice her now? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smirked to herself as she grabbed up one of her weapons and some tools. It was times like this that she felt like a true criminal mastermind... </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mua hah-hah!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She tucked herself near a corner, sitting with her tools spread around her. She peacefully tinkered away, looking up occasionally to observe their practice battle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex, being stronger, larger, and heavier, was clearly holding back, but Garrus was still proving to be exceptionally quick and clever. Wrex was also rather fast, especially given his size, but he certainly wasn’t as graceful as Garrus. It was clear the turian had practiced his form; his stance and techniques were perfect, just like those old boxing vids she had watched sometimes back during her adolescence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex seemed to make use of good form from time to time as well, but it was clear by some of the lazier strikes he made that he was so strong that he didn’t really need to conform to any formal technique.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus’ muscles were small for his frame, but they rippled with energy every time he moved. Well, actually only his abs and biceps were small. His shoulders and pectoral muscles were… certainly not small.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that she was looking or anything...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex caught Garrus’ latest punch in his palm. “You’re getting sloppy. Fatigue’s obviously setting in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus leaned on his knees to catch his breath. “Yeah, let’s… call it a day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got it, whelp.” Wrex headed over to some towels he had stacked up on one of the treads of the Mako. He grabbed one and threw it at Garrus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It landed square on his face. “Uh…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex shook his head in disbelief. “For your sweat…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turians don’t sweat.” Garrus finally emerged from the fabric. “Maybe a little, from time to time. But not a lot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lucky bastards…” Wrex managed to say between toweling off his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for taking the time, Wrex.” Garrus nodded to him before folding up the towel and handing it back to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah. Got my blood flowing, I guess.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was finished, Wrex shoved his soiled towels into a bag. “Now let’s hit the showers. You smell like shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad?” Garrus shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, this is what a real man--!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex careened to a halt, eyes locked on Shepard sitting there on the floor. His jaw dropped. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span>--?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus followed his gaze only to find Shepard sitting there with an impish smile. “You’re really determined to avoid resting, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Liara</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Shepard!” Wrex insisted, practically beside himself. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>me to get my ass kicked?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry; </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>protect you.” She smirked, taking one of his favorite lines for herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex pointed at her. “You couldn’t save a cookie from being baked!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on.” Garrus held up a hand to stop him before heading over to Shepard. “Commander, are you feeling okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah.” She instinctively shrank from his abrupt intrusion on her personal space. “My foot feels fine. I’ve just been sitting here, so...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s your, um… face,” he explained, hurriedly searching for the correct words but wound up settling for something close enough. “Actually, your cheeks. They’ve changed color. I think you might have… ah, what was it? Quarians can get it too… Um, fever! Yes, that’s it. I think you have a fever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um--! No, I’m fine!” she frantically insisted, embarrassed, but he was too busy mumbling to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, that’s right; I can check by doing this!” He pressed a palm to her forehead and waited. “Uh… actually I have no idea what doing this is supposed to tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She leaned back against the wall to avoid his hand and held out her hands to stop him from coming any closer. “I’m fine, okay? It’s just a little warm down here. Nothing to get concerned over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His brow plates furrowed. “You sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Entirely.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough games.” Wrex made his way over. “I’m taking you back to your cabin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just let me finish first!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just give it to Garrus. He can figure it out. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>need to head back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you trying to do?” Garrus questioned, reaching for her weapon and looking it over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just trying to fit the new scope. I want to be able to see through smoke.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” He nudged the scope, and it clicked into place. “There.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Shepard was incredulous. It couldn’t have been that easy...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” He nodded. “This model’s built for easy modification. It’s supposed to be simple.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah; whatever. Back to your cabin.” Wrex hauled her to her feet.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>~~3~~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright! Lock lifting in three, two…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard stood beside Joker and watched as the Normandy’s controls finally sprang to life with an array of lights and soft sounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One,” Joker smirked readily. “All systems… go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect.” Shepard nodded. “Take us out of here, Joker. You know where to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aye, aye.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Joker left the station, smooth as always, and set them on their way for the Kepler Verge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they were on a steady course, he spoke up again. “Everything looks good. We’ll hit the relay soon, and after that, it should be about three hours until we hit our target.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent,” she smiled. “I’ll be in the comm room. Keep me posted if anything happens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made a show of deflating. “That’s it? Only one ‘excellent’? I would’ve thought after all this, I’d have a little more going for me than one ‘excellent!’. You didn’t even say ‘excellent work, Joker!’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waved as she turned to leave. “Yeah, of course. Remind me to bake you cookies next time...!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m holding you to that!” he called out after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once she entered the comm room, she found that Garrus was already waiting for her. They exchanged greetings, and she moved to a seat across from him. “So we’re waiting on Wrex, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked up from his datapad. “Looks like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll give him a minute.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s your injury?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just fine. Dr. Chakwas cleared it, so we’re good to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. You got the files I sent you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “You even got the layout of his ship. Nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate being caught unawares.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked around, as if he expected Wrex would appear any second now, like some sort of specter. But before long, he settled back into reading, while Shepard scanned the map.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the debriefing’s appointed time came and went, Shepard gradually became concerned. “Okay. It’s been too long; I’m going to call him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reached for the intercom in the middle of the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He never checks his messages,” she answered in response to Garrus’ questioning look. “Wrex, we’re ready to debrief. Where are you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited with no response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pressed it again. “Wrex?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice crackled over the speaker. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh… ah, Shepard! Sorry, I, uh… I’m not feeling too well. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? That’s no good,” she frowned. “Okay. Report to Dr. Chakwas. I’ll get Liara to help us out with this one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Uh, that’s, ah… that’s not entirely necessary, is it?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Shepard narrowed her eyes. “Of course it’s necessary. When you don’t feel well, you get your ass to the doctor. No excuses.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait a second,” Garrus spoke up, his nose plates pinching close together as he sat in deep thought. “Don’t krogan have several immune systems? What kind of disease could you possibly have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex didn’t answer for several moments. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Actually, never mind. I’m, uh, on my way over now. Give me two minutes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard and Garrus exchanged perplexed looks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before long, Wrex entered the room. He stood there at the threshold for several seconds, his body looking incredibly stiff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you…” Shepard’s brow quirked in concern, “doing okay there, Wrex?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” he declared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he shuffled over to a spot beside Garrus before shoving two chairs together and taking a seat. “Uh… what’d I miss?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard stared at him, wide-eyed with confusion. “Wrex, if you’re not doing well, you really should sit this one out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He briefly coughed into the crook of his arm and cleared his throat. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure?” She looked unconvinced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, giving up. “Alright. It’s as you say then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to Garrus. “You ready to start?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He straightened. “Yes, of course.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled up the layout of the ship on his data pad. “I suppose we should start by going over the layout of Dr. Saleon’s ship. Wrex, did you receive the files I sent?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I got ‘em.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you read them?” Shepard asked, the doubt in her voice evident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did. Every last one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So,” Garrus shifted his weight, indicating he was ready to begin, “as you can see on the map I’ve provided, the airlock is located at the back of the ship, right before the cargo hold.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who knows what kind of creepy shit he’s got stored up in there,” Shepard remarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll find out soon enough,” Garrus smirked, a mandible pulling back to reveal a set of sharp teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex swallowed heavily, staring down at the table before him. He shifted his knees uncomfortably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beyond the hold, we have a corridor leading to the ship’s control systems. The ship itself is primarily controlled by VI, so there won’t be any crew members that we’d actually need to worry about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good to know.” Shepard nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also, several other rooms branch off from this main hallway; I assume they are labs or examination rooms. More than likely, we’ll find Dr. Saleon holed up in one of these places.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think we’ll encounter any of his assistants?” Shepard asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s more than likely, yes,” he replied. “I would say we should try everything we can to rescue them, but I can’t guarantee that some of them won’t attempt to defend him. If that’s the case, and if they’re anything like the people I came across several years ago, they’ll likely be rather frail. They shouldn’t put up much resistance, if at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. We’ll do everything we can to keep them safe,” Shepard confirmed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pointedly turned to Wrex. “You hear that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shifted his hands on the table and nodded. “Loud and clear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The rest of the files I obtained are items like his ship manifesto, some intercepted messages, port arrivals and departures, purchase histories; mostly just things that indicate his schemes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, some of that shit is pretty sketchy; it’s pretty clear he’s up to nothing good,” Shepard agreed. “You’re pretty thorough.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus smiled evilly. “It got a lot easier to do my job once I was free of C-Sec.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard smiled weakly. “Yeah, I guess…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at Wrex, who was still staring at the table. “Um… do you think this creep might try to use some kind of bioweapon against us? Like some kind of gas? Or a virus, or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose it’s possible, yes,” Garrus answered. “We should equip helmets just in case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good thinking!” Wrex exclaimed, a little louder than normal, as if he had just dozed off in class and didn’t want to get caught. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… Thanks.” Garrus’ mandibles twitched lightly as he cautiously regarded Wrex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If that’s all, we should start preparing to leave,” Shepard suggested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus looked to her and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” She nodded in turn. “We’ll meet at the airlock around 15:00. Be ready.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garrus nodded yet again and rose to leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard remained, while Wrex stiffly began to rise. She quickly left her seat and moved to stand before him, blocking his path to the exit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She folded her arms. “Okay. What’s really going on with you? Tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grumbled, “I said it’s nothing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been working together too long for you to be keeping secrets,” she pointed out, relaxing her stance. “I’m here for you, Wrex. I hope you know that by now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I appreciate that, Shepard, I do. Look…” he let out a heavy sigh, “it’s really nothing I can’t handle. I’ll get the job done. That’s all you need to worry about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rested a hand on his arm, as his shoulder was well above her head. “The mission’s important, but I’m worried about </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at her for several seconds before moving in to ruffle her hair. “Damn it, Shepard. You’re going to make me cry with all this sentimental shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t help but laugh as she pulled away from his vigorous treatment. “I’m just being honest!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he grinned at her. “But I got this. I’d let you know if I didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched him leave with a sad smile. She was used to counting on him, so it felt a little strange, worrying about him. But he had insisted, so she needed to trust him.</span>
</p>
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